Symphony of Shadows Part 1: Tabula Rasa
by Archdruid-Sephiroth
Summary: Castlevania x EVA: Asuka awakens in Shinji's apartment with no memory and strange glyphic tattoos on her back and shoulder blades. As cultists try to take her alive, she struggles with memory loss and finds out she may be the key to destroying a great evil that will awaken soon. Rated M for violence and content.
1. Who Am I

**A/N:** The following is a work of Fanfiction. Castlevania is owned by Konami. Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by GAINAX, Tatsunoko Production, and their affiliates. Please support the official releases. I claim no ownership of the source materials or garner any compensation from their creation other than the praise of my fans and the thanks of my readers.

* * *

"Praise to the Prince of Darkness!"

The congregation of cultists echoed the prayer as Decius Val Theran led them in reverence to their dark god. He stood well over six feet tall, with eyes as black as sackcloth and not a single hair adorning his head. His black priestly robes, a mockery of the catholic monk's uniform, were adorned with silver chains and sigils of darkness.

The room was large; stone adorned all sides of it with relief columns at each corner. The tops of the columns resembled twisted faces in various stages of anguish and all were different. No column was the same as any other in the room, at least not exactly. The floor consisted of flattened cobble but the walkway up the altar was made of stone slabs, each more bloodstained then the last. The walls held paintings of horrid bloody scenes of war and slaughter, impalement being common, and a torch was set on either side of each horrid image. Upon the wall behind the demonic altar was an inverted cross bearing a pair of demonic wings behind it, spread opened as if in flight.

This seemingly medieval gallery served as a sacrificial chamber for the dark gathering that was taking place here. Decius looked over his congregation of cultists with a mix of pride and amusement. Each and every cultist here was a trained killer, deadly summoner, or mage in their own right. Each one was willing to lay down their lives if he but gave the word.

Tonight was the start of something great; it was the beginning of a long ritual that would see the return of the greatest nemesis the world had ever known. Not since the angel wars a year ago had the world seen such evil… and this time it was not a mythic force or alien attacker, it was a doom of their own making. Soon the great castles will rise from the earth again, especially a certain massive fortress citadel hidden within central Europe.

"The time has come my children," Decius continued. "The sacrifice has been found! We will prepare her and she will burn her soul to bring our dark lord back to us! Let the world be bathed in blood and darkness! Everlasting life shall be ours at last!"

The congregation cried out in one voice, "Vlad Dracul! Vlad Dracul!"

As the chanting continued, Decius turned back to the altar, picking up a sacrificial knife. On the altar, a naked girl, no more than 16 squirmed and pulled at her binds, crying in fear. Her medium length black hair was plastered to her neck in sweat. Her Asian eyes wide with fear.

"Your blood is necessary child," Decius whispered to her. "Don't cry, for you will now serve a much nobler purpose… the rise of our lord and master; Vlad Tepes Dracula!"

The girl cried out one last time as the blade was brought high in the air over his head. Her terror palpable as the blade fell…

* * *

 **Archdruid Sephiroth Presents**

 **An Neon Genesis Evangelion x Castlevania Story**

 **Symphony of Shadows: Episode I**

 **Tabula Rasa**

* * *

 **I: Who Am I?**

* * *

Her eyes opened slowly to meet the dim light entering the room. They blinked once, adjusting to the feeling of being awake. Cloth shades hung from the wall around a window to the outside, but the owner of the eyes couldn't tell if the light was of day or a streetlight at night.

Slowly the girl began to sit up and immediately felt a hand helping her to do so.

"Easy," a calming voice softly came. "You've had a bad week so far."

She moaned in pain, feeling as if her body were subjected to being hit from every angle at once. Wondering at how she came to be this way she looked around the room, finding it nondescript but homey in its own way. She tried to think back to what happened to her but…

Nothing… nothing came to her. She thought harder, her heart now beating faster in her chest. She didn't know how she got hurt, she didn't know what she was doing when it happened. Then as she tried to dig even further she realized something else; that despite the familiarity of the boy's voice, she couldn't remember his name. A gasp escaped her as she realized just how blank her mind was.

"Where… where am I?" the girl asked tentatively, hoping some information might jog her memory. She looked at her arm and brushed away her long red hair. That at least seemed familiar and correct to her.

"Um… our apartment," the boy replied confused. "Obviously, you've been here before."

She looked at him and found his face to be familiar and at the same time, foreign to her. He was a young Japanese male, probably around 16 years old or so with unusually bright cobalt eyes and a very gentle touch. The way he was touching her now, it was as if he was afraid he would hurt her. She decided immediately that she liked him and wondered if they were a couple.

"Everything is so fuzzy," she admitted.

"It took me a week to find you. And then… I finally found you in an alley as if you had been discarded. I haven't really looked you over… um… I figured you wouldn't want me doing that."

She immediately understood what he was implying and nodded once. Perhaps they were not together after all, a thought which sadden her a little. "I am in pain but it is nothing I cannot handle."

"Why are you talking like Rei?" the boy asked her directly. The name wasn't even familiar to her but something tugged at the end of her mind like she should know who that was.

"I am sorry," the girl replied. "I do not remember anything."

"Anything?" the boy asked with nervousness in his voice.

She nodded, realizing he was now starting to understand her problem. "I do not even know your name… or mine."

"You have amnesia," the boy noted. "I can't even begin to imagine what happened to you." He paused. "My name is Ikari Shinji." She noted he used the normal surname first format usually used by the Japanese. She knew at least she was in Japan, or could at least safely assume as much. "Your name is Sohryu Asuka Langley."

"I have two surnames?" she asked with interest. The name seemed familiar, and she recognized the fact that her first name was in the middle of what this boy, this Shinji had said.

"You were always keen to assert the fact that you were only half Japanese," he replied evenly.

"I see," Asuka replied. "I wish I remember any of this."

"Perhaps it will come back to you in time," Shinji replied. "For now, I would just try to rest. I don't think you've had enough time to recover from your injuries. I haven't reported to NERV that you've been located yet."

"NERV?"

"Where we work. We're, ah, Security Operatives now. We used to pilot these… well…" He paused causing her to look at him with an even more puzzled expression. "Ah… well it really doesn't matter right now. Besides, I'm not even sure if you would believe me if I told you."

"I see." Asuka replied. She shifted a bit and immediately felt a bit on the grungy side. "Can you wash these sheets and perhaps find me some clean clothes. I need a wash badly," she admitted.

"Oh! Um… of course!" He stood up from the bed allowing her to get up. She looked at herself and saw she was wearing some rather dirty and nasty looking clothes.

"I look like a vagrant," she admitted. "Yes, a good washing is definitely in order." As she walked towards the bathroom door she stripped off the shirt, tossing it aside. She heard Shinji gulp as she wore no bra beneath the dirty shirt. "You should dispose of these clothes," she continued as she stripped and slipped out of the rest without facing him and entered into the bathroom. Judging from the sounds he made, she wondered if she gave the poor boy a nosebleed.

With the door closed she looked at herself and saw in addition to all the grime, she had several wounds on her chest and stomach, all perfectly mirrored on each side of her. One lay above each breast, four on her stomach in almost a perfect box pattern and one in each shoulder. She looked down, seeing she probably needed a shave on top of everything else and noted more scars on her thighs. Though they didn't hurt at all, she cringed anyway wondering what they were and how she got them.

Turning the water on she made sure it was nice and hot before stepping in. Inside he saw the boy's shampoo and body wash, but also saw more feminine products as well; a feminine shaving razor, cherry blossom scented shampoo and conditioner, facial wash and all the proper scrubbing items needed for all of these activities. She reached down and took the razor in her hand, noting the familiar feel of it. She looked at the razor blades and carefully inspected those, finding a single hair lodged between two of the blades. Carefully removing it she noted it was red like hers.

"So we live together, but we are not a couple?" she asked herself. His reaction to seeing the back side of her naked seemed to indicate he was not used to seeing her in such a state of undress so if they really were living with each other it was further evidence that it was out of necessity or convenience rather than because they were a couple. This also explained why he thought it would be inappropriate for him to examine her too closely.

Again she sighed sadly, wondering if she had always hoped they would get together. Her faint emotions where all she could really go off of now. Her instincts knew she was meant to be here, her emotions indicated this to be true, but why weren't they together?

And why was her stuff in _his_ bathroom, did she not have her own? More and more questions continued to pile onto her until she finally decided the only way she was going to get her memory back was to stop second guessing and start accepting her current situation. She would try to get back into her life no matter what it took. Perhaps this time, she could do the things her predecessor could not.

"Predecessor?" she whispered. "Can a lack of memory truly make me a completely different person?" She mused on this as she washed up.

After taking a long hot shower which included shaving everything that needed it, including places most Japanese girls normally don't shave, she finally got out feeling refreshed. Her scars she noted, now that they were cleaner looked at lot less horrific than before. She covered her hair in a towel and twirled it up to dry it, catching sight of something on her shoulder blade when she did so. Turning a bit more she managed to see it in its full glory.

It was a tattoo, but it wasn't one that most people would have there. Instead it appeared to be some kind of circle with glyphic symbols. An outer circle and another one a short distance within the first outlined the entire tattoo. Inside the space between the circles was a ring of sigils and symbols that followed the circle around. She noted it was a perfect circle, something that would have had to have been meticulously drawn upon her. Only three symbols within each ring held any kind of coloration, the others seemed to be mere outlines.

As she continued to turn, she saw the inner circle consisting of some kind of glyphic symbol. It was enormously complex, and reminded her of occult symbols. Then she noted the massive one on her back a little lower and another one similar to the first on her other shoulder blade.

"What... what is all of this?" she questioned to no one watching as it almost looked as if the symbols glowed for a moment. A flash of an image entered her mind. Briefly, she saw a dark gathering, saw herself naked and tied face down on an altar. She felt cold hands on her back and then pain; it felt as if a searing hot needle was being pushed into her flesh.

But just as she tried to grasp such a horrid thread, her mind rejected it out of abject terror. The memory evaporated becoming hard to completely recall, leaving only her rapidly beating heart as a reminder of what she saw.

" _Mein Gott…_ what happened to me?"

* * *

Asuka decided not to mention the tattoos on her back, after all Shinji must have seen them when she stripped her shirt off on her way into the bathroom, and he probably would mention something if they were out of place. And yet… that vision she received ever so briefly in the bathroom was not encouraging to her.

Food was laid out for her as she walked into what she assumed with the kitchen. A small table with two chairs adorned the shortened wall between the two doors leading out into the living room. Asuka sat down on one of the chairs then moved to the other as she realized it didn't 'feel right' to her.

The food laid out was definitely not Japanese fare; Bratwursts and Sauerkraut, a bowl of what appeared and smelled to be a wine cheese sauce, and a larger bowl holding several artisan style hoagie rolls. She picked a brat up with her fork placing it in the roll before smoothing it with cheese and kraut. The taste as she took her first bite was very familiar and lit her taste buds up in ways she enjoyed.

"It's one of your favorites," Shinji noted. "I've acquired a bit of a taste for it as well."

"It is perfect," Asuka commented after she swallowed. " _Danke_."

" _Es war mir ein Vergnügen_ ," Shinji replied in very uncertain German.

Asuka felt slight amusement. His accent wasn't very good, but he knew German. He probably learned it for her, though obviously they didn't use it much.

"I've been practicing," Shinji affirmed, looking sheepish, thinking he said it wrong.

"Have you been doing that for me?" She asked playfully, then giggled as she watched him blush sheepishly. "Sorry, I could not help it."

"It's okay… it's what you would do."

Asuka smiled softly at those words. She may have none of memory back yet, but certain things seem to be falling into place on their own. But then, a slight burning sensation on her back reminded her that her life was in fact inverted and disrupted in a big way, and she needed to get to the bottom of it. She thought back to the image but again, trying to recall it made it harder to do so, like something was actively trying to block that memory from her.

"Asuka?" Shinji asked with a mote of concern in his voice. She realized she must have been expressing her ill ease as she tried to remember again… or perhaps it was because she had to stop shoving food into her mouth to do so.

"Shinji-kun," she whispered as she looked up to him; her face an expression of worry and concern. She told herself she wouldn't ask such question but they begged answers, and she had plenty of indication now that those marks on her back weren't supposed to be there. "Did… I mean… have you… eh…" She really didn't know how to breach the subject. She didn't want to scare him off with talk about her bare skin since she already established he was a bit sheltered in that regard.

"What is it?" he coaxed.

"Other than earlier today, have you ever seen my back exposed like that?"

The boy did blush a little and seemed a bit uncomfortable but he nodded. "A couple of times, actually... Once shortly after we met, and once after we had been working together a lot."

"Did I… Did I have any tattoos there that you knew about?"

Shinji visibly sighed and put his food down. He appeared to be taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he answered, and Asuka was hoping the wait would not be long. The answer was what she wasn't hoping for at all.

"No," Shinji whispered. "Both times I saw your back it was clean, unblemished, unadorned… perfect." As if realizing how that last part sounded he suddenly backpedaled. "I mean… uh… like no scars or anything like that!"

Under normal circumstances, such a thing probably would have amused her, but in this case…

"You saw my back before I went into the bathroom, _ja_?"

"Yes."

"And?"

He paused before he finally spoke. "I don't know where or when you got those weird circles tattooed on your back. I thought it was weird because they seem like they could be occult or something, and last I checked, you weren't into that sort of thing. But the people we were fighting…"

"What people?" Asuka leaned forward. "What were we doing? What was I doing?"

Shinji sighed and stood up, walking towards the kitchen window. Asuka could see it was roughly sundown. She still didn't know just how long it had been since she went missing.

"You and I work for NERV. About a year ago, the original purpose of NERV was quite different than it is now, but I won't go into that because for one, I don't think you'd believe me, and two it doesn't have any relevance to what we do now. My father still runs the organization, and it's an internal security branch of the Japanese Special Self Defense Force, or JSSDF for short. We have been working like this for the past year, since the end of NERV's original mission."

He paused and looked at her. Asuka nodded to indicate that she understood so far. He turned back towards the window.

"This time we were investigating a disturbance in the Upper Canto district of Tokyo-2. We found we were against some kind of cult. Our intelligence didn't indicate anything like this, and they were pretty well armed for a cult. During the exchange there was an explosion, and you went MIA. Some of the other operatives that were debriefed mentioned monsters and that some of the cult members were simply shouting weird words and making things happen as if by magic. I saw no such thing during that incident."

"I see," Asuka replied. "None of this is ringing any bells."

"I'm more surprised the idea of magic isn't getting you even more skeptical about this," Shinji noted. "You're a Physics Major; I'd have though the mere notion of magic would be appalling or something."

"I get the feeling I have seen even more incredible things in my life," Asuka responded and noted Shinji's slight nod at her statement. "So it is highly probable that I was captured by this cult."

"Is any of this making any sense at all?"

"A little," Asuka noted nervously. She pulled her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around her legs to hold them there as Shinji looked on with a look of concern. "There is a memory I got a flash of when I first saw the sigils on my back. But it is hard to pull at that thread, as if my mind is trying to block it out because it is too horrible to witness."

Shinji approached her. "Asuka," he whispered.

"I am in some kind of stone room. I can hear chanting. I feel a burning hot needle being pushed into my back." She felt a tear leaving her eye and chose not to fight it. As soon as Shinji came close to her chair, she unfolded herself and pulled him to her, resting her head against his stomach and wrapping her arms around his waist and lower back. Shinji froze, almost predictably.

"A-Asuka… I…"

"Please," she whispered pathetically. "Please just hold me and tell me I am going to be okay." She needed him now, and she didn't care if they were not a couple. Asuka knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, despite not having a single memory to confirm it, that she was in love with the boy, that she trusted her entire being to him… and most of all that she absolutely needed him now more than ever.

Shinji sighed audibly but she felt his arms encircle her. Allowing herself to cry softly, she vented the frustration and pain of being nothing at all but a broken, empty shell. If this was her fate, she would make Shinji her only foundation, and hopefully with any luck begin to rebuild her life. After all, she had the distinct feeling that he was the one who would always find her if she fell….

* * *

At some point Asuka managed to pull herself together long enough to dry her tears, drink some soothing tea Shinji had brewed for her, and drift off to sleep in her own room. Barely even awake enough to look around, at the room at that time, she didn't see anything that jogged her memory in the least. She wondered if anything would now.

Asuka slept for a few hours before another event would interrupt her life. Hearing the sound of pounding on the apartment door, she sat upright in her bed. Her heart pounding as the door was kicked in. Asuka however, being trained for this sort of thing quickly moved out of bed and against the wall by the door to her room, listening. She was dressed only in panties and a large T-Shirt but that didn't concern her at that moment. As far as she was concerned, the people who dared break into the home of an operative of NERV wouldn't live long enough to enjoy the sight of her barely clothed.

"Find the candidate!" ordered one of the men. Judging from the footsteps there were at least 3 to 5 individuals that were in the apartment. As her door was slid opened Asuka grabbed the man proceeded to beat him down with a quick series of attacks kicking him out of the room against the wall in view of the others who stopped what they were doing at that moment.

As the man tried to get off the wall Asuka kicked him in the throat holding her foot down on his neck after impact and pinning him to the wall. He struggled as his larynx was crushed and he quickly suffocated to death. Asuka turned and viewed the other intruders with disdain.

"Get out of my apartment," she demanded.

"It's the sacrifice!" the leader exclaimed. "Excellent! Lord Decius will be pleased! Take her!" The others responded, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she just easily killed one of their own. Asuka readied herself for combat just as one of the men completed a phrase of power. A black hole of energy opened on the ground before him and three humanoid skeletons popped out of the hole.

"Oh _Scheiße_ ," she exclaimed as she saw the boney assailants form large bones in their hands. Then something welled up inside of her. They were after someone else, a candidate she realized. They referred to her as 'the sacrifice' so she wasn't the candidate, and there was only one other person in the apartment. _'Oh, hell no. I will not let them take him!'_

Runes within the circles on her shoulder blades began to glow, and they would be visible even through the shirt. Two of the skeletons rushed forward ready to strike but it was too late.

" _Zur Hölle mit dir!_ " she shouted as she threw both of her hands forward with opened palms as if initiate a flat handed strike to their skulls. A blade seemed to fire out of each palm punching through the skulls of both simultaneously causing their bodies to shatter as the power that held them together was extinguished. The upper back of Asuka's T-shirt blew opened revealing her glowing glyphs and the single glowing symbol on the outer ring of each that resembled a rapier faintly. The third skeleton rushed her as his buddies fell to dust, and the glowing rune on Asuka's right shoulder changed. It stopped glowing, but a sword-shaped one near it began to glow instead. With a swing of her hand Asuka felt the power well up in her again, and a physical sword appeared in that hand. She easily decapitated the second skeleton before shifting her left rune to a sword as well, forming a second one. Another of the three mages produced a bolt of electrical force but Asuka easily dodged it sliding in quickly and slashing the man's midsection opened with little delay.

The summoner quickly tried to pull out another minion but was interrupted and had to block the incoming attacks from Asuka. The third mage tried to circle around but Asuka proved she could fend off attacks from both sides quite easily. The leader stood back watching in what appeared to be mute horror as Asuka's blade dance easily made quick work of the summoner.

The other mage tried desperately to land a blow but was brought down quickly with a series of quick strikes aimed as his wrists and arms. As his weapons fell limply and he cried in pain Asuka used both blades to decapitate the man in a cross slash. Having apparently seen enough, the leader attempted to flee, running for the door. Suddenly a dagger slammed into the door just past his head.

"Where are you going?" Asuka deadpanned. "I have many questions for you, cultist."

The last mage drew a short blade that appeared to be crafted of black glass. "I will stop you and bring you to Master Decius!" With a war cry, he launched forward. Asuka switched her left hand blade to a reverse grip and used her forearm with the blade along it to stop the attack, then ran the man though the stomach with the other blade.

"Why do you want us so badly!" she yelled at the gasping man as she pushed the blade deeper into his gut. His response was to laugh in her face.

"You will know soon enough, child," he spoke as blood began to trail from his mouth. "Lord Decius will have both of you yet, and then… and… then…" Blood poured from his mouth and he finally fell dead, sliding off of Asuka's blade as he did so. Asuka lost concentration on her weapons at that moment and both blades simply dematerialized as if they were never there.

She looked at her hands, felt the cool air against her bare back as she realized only the undamaged collar of her T-shirt was holding it in place. In mute horror, she looked at the death she caused with weapons she conjured from nowhere at all.

" _Was bin ich,_ " she whispered softly as she looked at her hands.

"A weapon," Shinji replied softly as he stepped out of the shadows with a Mineba P-9 in his right hand. "At least that what it looked like from here."

"They called me 'the sacrifice'. They called you 'the candidate'. What in _Gott's_ name is going on here, Shinji-kun?"

"I don't know," Shinji replied looking away. "Whatever it is, we've become a part of it. And we can't stay here."

"And where are we supposed to go now?" Asuka challenged as she felt her heart racing at the realization of how deep in the shit they both were at that moment.

"I have a safe house," he offered. "We can go there. I doubt even the cult will be able to find us there."

Asuka nodded. Shinji thought ahead it seemed, though she was sure that he never imagined a situation like this would have prompted them to use it.

* * *

They wasted no time gathering a few important items before loading into Shinji's SUV and leaving Tokyo-2.

"Will you not be missed?" Asuka asked as they hit the main highway out of the city.

"Father always seems to know where I am," Shinji replied. "He'll know not to expect me in to work anytime soon."

"If that is true, then why has he not tried to reacquire me as well?" Asuka asked, not understanding how this was even possible. "Would he not already know that you found me?"

"I've been asking myself the same question," Shinji admitted. "And I've come up with two possibilities. Either my father knows enough about the situation to trust my decision making and is letting me handle it… or he doesn't give a shit and is just watching how it all plays out."

"And which do you think it the more likely of the two?" she asked.

Shinji's silence was all she needed to hear to know what he really thought. She had gotten the sense that Gendo Ikari was less than amiable in his mannerisms and such, but she wondered just what made him such an unrelenting douchebag to his son. Certainly she had been privy to most of it during the time before they were both operatives, likely during this time they were 'pilots'.

Asuka looked out the window as rain began to fall. It would get cold tonight, and she mused that the chill feeling running though her veins right now would likely be echoed by the weather…

* * *

 _Sitting in the dark I can't forget,_

 _Even now I realize the time I'll never get_

 _Another story of the bitter pills of fate,_

 _I can't go back again_

 _I can't go back again_

* * *

"I wish I had more of my memories. The safe house is nice, and it is a lovely area, but now I am haunted by nightmares. Perhaps taking a walk in the wilderness will help clear my head… but what is with this weird cave?"

 **Next Chapter: Nightmares**


	2. Nightmares

_An explosion rocked the streets around her; the force of the blast threw her from her feet. A ringing in her ear made it impossible to know what was happening. Something went horribly wrong but she had no idea what it was._

 _She turned her head slightly and through the smoke she saw figures moving, impossible figures like gargoyles and other monsters attacking the NERV task force that was sent here. She tried to sit up only to find a foot push down her chest. Her hearing began to improve with the ringing finally wearing off only to hear the desperate screams of the soldiers as they were torn to pieces by monsters and men who had long forgotten what it was like to be civilized._

 _Her weapon was kicked away and she heard a voice whispering. "There is something special about this one."_

 _She tried to mouth words, tried to demand they get off of her but in her condition she could not do so._

" _Take her to Decius," another man said somewhere off to her left. "She might be precisely what we need."_

 _Her head was twisted hard to the left but not enough to break it. She felt a needle being shoved into her carotid artery…_

With a scream Asuka awoke. Her sheets were soaking wet around her as if she had been bathing in her own sweat. Feeling the pain draining from what she experienced in the nightmare she began to cry. Her eyes were tight shut as she felt Shinji sit next to her and place his arms around her protectively. She turned towards him, still kneeling on the bed and continued to bawl unabashed.

"It's okay, Asuka," his calm voice whispered. "You're okay… it was just another nightmare…" His touch was soothing as he began to rub her back gently in a circular motion.

But deep within her heart, Asuka knew this was no mere nightmare…

… It was a memory…

* * *

 **II: Nightmares**

* * *

Much of the land North of Kyoto was once suburban sprawl, but the majority of it was wiped out by Tsunamis during the Second Impact. Despite that the wilderness grew here unabashed. Underground streams took hold allowing life to flourish here despite what had happened. Somehow, huge trees and a thick forest overtook the landscape north of the city after the event had managed to sort itself out. It was here, nestled in the middle of what felt like nowhere at all, that Shinji had his safe house built.

Asuka was impressed. He had managed to harness the underground streams to produce electricity for the place despite its remoteness, and even had enough to power electric pumps to allow indoor plumbing without the need for city infrastructure. She knew NERV must have helped in its creation, since much of the technology needed for this kind of set up was beyond even her own knowledge.

Sitting on the front porch, she looked out over the forest for the amount of space she could see before the trees became so thick. She was currently wrapped not only in warm clothes but in a comforter as well. Shinji took his place next to her handing her a hot mug of his soothing tea and she took it graciously.

"No one really knows why this forest grew so fast," Shinji noted, as if sensing her wonder at it all. "Some say it was just the right mix of circumstances, but others seem to think it has a much more supernatural reason."

"I am inclined to believe the later," Asuka admitted as she continued to take it all in. "It would be impossible for this much growth to happen if the land were swept clean of everything a mere 16 years ago."

Shinji nodded. "So how are you holding up?"

Asuka knew exactly what he meant by that, he was still worried about her reaction last night.

It has been two days since they arrived here the safe house, and Asuka has not been able to get solid sleep due to the nightmares that keep plaguing her. The first night was similar to the dream she had last night but this time more was revealed to her. She was still convinced they were memories and not constructs of a horrified mind.

"Not well," she admitted. "The nightmares are getting worse. This last night I think I might have experienced what happened during the raid."

Shinji remained silent for a moment before inevitably asking, "Anything pertinent?"

"I was apparently found by luck," Asuka noted. "There seemed to be some confusion over my appearance, but they did mention someone named… Decius."

"I thought as much," Shinji replied. "One of the men you killed two nights ago mentioned that man. I've had Maya look into the name but whoever he is, that's either not his real name, or he's damned ghost."

Asuka took a sip of her tea. "Perhaps both," she mused. "I had the impression by what has happened so far that this cult, whatever it is called, is both well-funded and well-established. That would indicate it is also old… perhaps quite old."

"That doesn't bode well for us does it?"

Asuka took another sip of her tea but didn't bother replying; they both already knew what the answer was.

"Based on that I think I might be able to explain some things," Shinji continued. "I happen to know a bit about cult groups in Tokyo-2."

Asuka looked towards him. "The uniforms of the cultists that attacked us… they look familiar?"

"Based on what I've been able to piece together, and their appearance, I believe these cultists might be part of a group called 'The Sons of Shaft'."

"Sounds ominous," Asuka deadpanned. "What is their motive?"

"Well, based on what I've been able to gather from previous cases involving them, they seek to revive the Prince of Darkness."

"Awaken the Devil? It that all?" Asuka replied sardonically.

"No, not Lucifer... The so-called 'Prince of Darkness' actually refers to another mythical figure of supernatural lore, thought to be the true father of all evil and darkness; Count Vlad Tepes Dracul."

"Dracul… you mean Dracula?" Asuka almost sounded amused. "Are you serious?"

"It is no joke, Asuka!" Shinji replied a bit stronger than she expected him to, causing her mirth to fade instantly. "Dracula is very real. According to the writings of the Belmont Clan from Eastern Europe, Dracula represented ALL evil in the world and possessed the power to rule the night. His appearance brought death and destruction to all corners of the Earth, and not just a small corner of Europe where only Romanians and Turks were involved as history would suggest. Dracula is the Lord of Darkness, the King of the Night, and his coming is always marked by a sharp increase of chaos and destruction across the globe."

Asuka was shocked at all of this; Shinji wasn't joking at all, and firmly believed all of this happened. Was there really truth to it?

"The writings further explain how every 100 years, he would somehow return to plague mankind again. It wasn't until the year 1999, just before Second Impact that he was defeated by the last descendant of the Belmont Clan, Julius Belmont, once and for all. He sacrificed his life to seal away the power of Dracula and end his reign for all time. Unfortunately there are many now that believe that part of his legacy managed to escape this fate, giving the dark lord another way to revive. As a result, the cult has been working tirelessly to undo what was done and to release the true power of Dracula again."

Asuka looked at her tea as she heard the sound of a rumble in the distance; it sounded like thunder. "This is nuts. I cannot believe this is all true! And I do not like the implications of it."

"I know nothing of the ritual they are using, but I know they've been looking for candidates for sacrifice. You were referred to as 'the Sacrifice' and it's obvious now that I was also chosen to be sacrificed for whatever reason. You somehow managed to escape that fate though, but not just escape it, draw power from it."

"I still do not understand how it works exactly," Asuka mused.

"Either way, it may be a clue in dissecting what they are trying to do."

"I do not care," Asuka decided aloud. And why should she? After all, weren't they safe here? The cult couldn't touch them now, and there was no way they could finish what they started so long as she didn't get captured by them again. They had too much invested in her. "It does not matter now. So long as I remain away from them, they cannot finish what they started."

Shinji nodded. "True enough. It really isn't our problem anymore. Maya is aware of it, so NERV will deal with the problem. We just have to keep you out of their hands."

Asuka sighed. As quiet and peaceful as it was out here, incoming thunderstorm not-withstanding, she knew she was going to get bored here pretty fast.

* * *

Another night, another nightmare… This one wasn't as bad, and didn't draw Shinji to her again. She managed to get enough sleep to awaken feeling at least partly refreshed. She noted that Shinji was sleeping in and wasn't awake just yet. It was the perfect time to wander about without him fretting over her.

Asuka dressed in comfortable jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and then left the house to explore the forest around. She felt a little guilty about doing this, since when Shinji woke up, he probably will have a minor heart attack at her disappearance, but getting away for a bit to clear her head seemed like a good idea.

"So who am I really?" Asuka whispered as she walked through the woods. Shinji mentioned she was a pilot like him but a pilot of what? As far as she knew, she had no skills in piloting aircraft. She tried to think back to that time and was greeted only with emotions… pain, violation, and a sense of loss. Retreating quickly from that part of her mind, she realized she was not ready for such thoughts yet.

Her new reality would take some getting used to, but this power she had to seemingly pull weapons out of nothing at all… she knew it was due to the glyphs on her back, but what did they really mean. What was the point of it? The cult gave her power but why? Was she brainwashed into joining them? That seemed counter-intuitive since they specifically called her 'The Sacrifice'. Of course the thought also occurred to her that her powers were somehow a side effect of what happened to her, and thusly an unintended result. Could magic truly be so tricky a thing?

Asuka froze… she felt something nearby… a supernatural pallor held thick in the air, though how she knew it was supernatural she didn't know. Perhaps having supernatural power herself put her in tune with such things. She followed her sense though the trees as it led down a short hill.

Asuka stopped at the base of the hill as the land still angled down but flattened out. A cave was staring back at her, and she knew without a doubt that this was the source of the energy. The entrance was covered in hanging roots and vines but most of it could be seen. There appeared to be a pale light flickering inside like a torch or candle flame.

"I have to warn Shinji," Asuka whispered, thinking the cult had taken residence her but then she stopped and thought about that. The chances that the cult had arrived here were pretty remote, and if this was indeed dangerous, she wouldn't have time to get help from Shinji. She swallowed as she realized she would probably have to do this herself.

Steeling herself, she entered the cave without further delay. Inside was a path leading downward. Every 20 feet or so, there was a primitive looking brazier that looked rather old and well used. Supernatural energy seemed to drift from the fires. This told her that there was likely no one down here who lit them, and that they have been burning for a very long time since they were wrought from magic.

Magic… She imagined that a few days ago, when she had her memory, she likely would have scoffed at the notion that such things were possible. Now here she was, exploring a supernatural cave beneath a forest that was likely rebuilt using the same energies. Fate truly was whimsical.

As she descended further she saw what appeared to be a drop off. Seeing that the nearest ledge was close enough, she jumped across to it. Then she looked down and noticed the next one was about 10 feet below her. Thinking she should be able to climb back up, she carefully jumped down, noticing she felt lighter on her feet than she would have expected.

Suddenly a flame flew at her from the darkness, a ball of fire aimed right at her. In surprise she jumped up, and then floundered as she realized she jumped high enough to easily clear the ledge she just left a moment ago. Getting her bearings she landed on it but almost fell over.

"Ok… that was new," she whispered. Asuka looked down; a flame off in the direction the fireball came from got her attention. What she saw was not encouraging; the thing looked like a shortened column composed of 2 dragon-like skulls. One was facing away but the other was still facing where she was standing. Realizing it was some kind of sentry and couldn't move she prepared herself and dropped down again, this time able to see the assailant.

The skull fired another ball of flame at her. Instinctively she waved a hand forward causing a shield to appear in midair between her and the incoming projectile. The action of doing so caused the back of her shirt to blow outwards revealing her glyphs. Her left shoulder now had a shield shaped symbol on the glyph that was glowing, and her right had a dagger symbol visible. After the shot was blocked the shield faded and she threw several daggers in quick succession at the sentry, noting the bottom skull was turning to face her as well. The daggers stuck in and quickly shattered the sentry.

"I think I might be getting better at this," she said to herself.

Now with a dagger in each hand she continued dropping down until she reached the bottom which opened into a new path. Ahead of her was a long corridor that looked as if it was carved from the rocks rather than being improvised like most of what she'd seen so far.

"I seem to be getting somewhere," Asuka noted. Cautiously she began to walk forward before watching the ground seem to crack in places ahead of her. Holding her daggers at the ready, she prepared for whatever might be coming next.

Zombies pulled themselves out of the ground and immediately began to shamble forward. Rotting human corpses with equally rotted tatters for clothing arose one by one, quickly filling the corridor. There were man of them, Asuka counted easily close to 50. Switching immediately to swords she began to run forward without fear, dodging their pathetic attempts to attack her as she flipped over or rolled under the assailants and slashed down whatever she had to. She was surprised at how easily they were falling to her blades, noting that unlike what modern zombie lore would tell her, any attack that would be fatal to the living seemed to be just as effective against these walking dead.

Once out of the corridor she beheld another upwards passage with a wooden chest at the bottom under a platform. Looking up she could see the platforms formed something like a disjointed spiral stair as they circled the cylindrical passage but were not connected. She wondered just how far underground she was as the top seemed to be nearly 200 feet above her.

Curiously she approached the chest and opened it carefully, finding a charm inside that appeared to be a dodecahedral stone with a tiny wing made of platinum attached to it. As she picked it up, a thin silver chain hung from it as if magically forming. Without hesitation she put it on feeling a surge of energy for a moment as the relic attuned itself to her and imparted knowledge of its power.

"Oh, this will be fun," Asuka whispered as she crouched down and leapt into the air nearly 15 feet. At the height she saw the next ledge a mere 12 feet above her and activated the effects of the stone. A glyphic circle of force appeared below her for a split second allowing her to quickly leap from it as well and reach the ledge. She looked down realizing she cleared nearly 30 feet easily. She looked up and repeated the feat again and again until she finally managed to reach the top level where a strange stone door blocked her path.

"What is this?" she whispered as she stepped forward. The door seemed to shimmer with energy and she reached out to it without fear. As her hand touched it, she felt the energy dissipate and the stone door rose up into the top of the doorjamb, revealing a large room. She stepped inside and immediately the door came down and slammed shut behind her. She spun trying to open the door again only for the door to remain sealed.

"Damn it! It is a trap!"

A screeching sound got her attention and she spun around drawing both glyphic swords. What she saw looked like a gargoyle of some kind. A pair of short horns slid back from its head. It had wings instead of arms and a pointed snout lined with sharp triangular teeth. As he roared at her again, the air around its mouth shimmered as if exposed to intense heat.

" _Wunderbar_ ," she whispered sardonically.

Immediately he bombarded her position with a series of fireballs as he took flight. Asuka quickly rolled right switching to daggers and threw several in his direction, but the fire breathing demon was far too quick for such attacks to be effective. Asuka took note of her location, noting ledges standing on either side of the room. She leapt upon one and ran along it, outrunning a series of fireballs directed at her.

' _I have to keep ahead of his attacks,'_ she strategized. The monster peeled off towards the other side of the room and Asuka wondered what he was playing at. Suddenly a spinning boomerang style axe flew past her, nearly taking her head off. In the process of her last-second dodge, she saw a walking suit of heavy armor catch the spinning projectile as it returned. Asuka having none of this, rushed at the suit and dodged the axe before flipping over the armor and slashing in such a way that she took its head off while she was inverted. As she landed she saw a glyph floating in midair that resembled a massive axe. It was bigger than she was.

"It was created using Glyphic magic as well?" she questioned. "I wonder if I could…"

On instinct, she reached back and raised her hair up exposing all of her glyphs. Concentrating on the glyph she watched as it appeared to stretch towards her as if caught in the gravity well of a black hole. Within seconds it pulled itself to her causing the axe shaped outlines within the circles on her back to fill in.

At that moment, the fire-breathing monster made its reappearance, flying towards her at break-neck speeds. Asuka turned towards it, accessing her newly acquired glyph and summoned a pair of axe-boomerangs into her hands. She leapt from the ledge, avoiding his fireballs and threw her axes at the height of the job. Both managed to graze the monster as it dived between them and Asuka finished her flip landing on the ground. As the monster swung back around she quickly spun catching the axes that managed to seek her and return to her. She back flipped as fireballs rained down on her position, then at the height of her jump activated the Leap Stone relic to further propel her flip just before throwing the axes again. One managed the catch the creature causing it to cry out in pain but the other missed again. Asuka ran hard forward under the creature and spun in time to reach back and catch her weapons. The monster was already almost upon her. Switching to Shield and Sword, she blocked the fireballs, riding the force of the hit as she was still in the air, and slashed as the creature tried to pass her, the sword biting deep.

The monster came crashing down 20 feet later. Asuka sighed in relief thinking it was over only to watch the creature get back to its feet, and watched its skin turn red.

"And now I believe I have made it unhappy with me," Asuka whispered. The monster unleashed a constant stream of fire at Asuka forcing her to duck behind her shield and hold it steady as it kept the pressure on. Even behind the shield she could feel the heat of it.

"I have to do something before I cook." She realized she couldn't see where the monster was, but knew generally where to aim her attack. Trusting luck, she switched back to her axe-boomerang and threw it behind her. She waited until the last second before flipping backwards over it allowing it to fly past her.

As Asuka landed, the axe found its mark, and the monster roared in pain. She noted the axe wasn't returning due to the fact that it was imbedded in the monster's left shoulder. Knowing she couldn't switch glyphs from her right hand without dismissing the axe, she switched her left hand over to axe and threw it, decapitating the monster and finally ending the battle. She shut down both glyphs causing the axes to fade, the noted a fiery glyph left in place of the monster.

"I can use glyphs that produce weapons," Asuka reasoned, "is it possible that elemental power is not outside of my purview?" She approached the glyph, exposing her back and attempting to absorb this one the way she absorbed the axe. Sure enough the glyph responded and fused with her. Unseen but felt, a pair of glyphic symbols appeared to fill in inside the circles at her shoulder blades that resembled flames.

Holding out a hand, she conjured forth a ball of fire in it, and smiled.

"I can expand my powers!" Asuka exclaimed. "That means I may soon be more than a match for the cult."

She paused. Why was she thinking about this again? The cult was no longer her problem anymore. And yet… she felt like she had to do something… She stared at the flames and got a vision from her past.

 _She felt the blood oozing down her stomach as she watched from her seated position on the floor. Her body was limp, barely even functional. She heard the congregation chanting the name of Vlad Dracul and noted a girl was tied to the altar._

 _The poor naked girl couldn't have been older than Asuka herself. She cried out in a mix of pain and terror as the dagger bit down into her chest and cleaved her opened like freshly gutted game. Blood poured form the altar and filled the vessels connected to it. The priest held the bloody knife aloft and called for another sacrifice. Asuka watched in mute horror as the girl that was just killed was simply released and pushed from the altar. Her dark shoulder length hair now soaking with her own blood as her disrespected body joined the others on the pile._

" _All this is for you," she heard a voice say…_

Snapping back to reality, her jaw set on determination.

"No… I will not stand by idly while this keeps happening. I will end this cult with my own hands." She knew Shinji would not approve but she knew it was something she had to do…

* * *

An hour later Asuka finally reached the house once again.

"Asuka!" Shinji called out from the porch. "There you are! I was worried sick!"

"Shinji-kun," she replied. "You will not believe the day I have had."

They both entered the house and Shinji noted the back of her shirt was blown opened and her glyphs were visible. He also noted that they seem to have changed somewhat, new symbols seemed fully formed now.

"What happened?"

Asuka sat down in the kitchen as Shinji brewed tea for them. She explained her adventure in the cave and showed the relic she found. Going into great detail, she explained her battle with the fire demon.

"Occult texts call that sort of monster, a Gaibon," Shinji noted. "I can't believe you actually managed to defeat something like that."

"I am more powerful than I realized, Shinji-kun," she explained. "And now that I know my powers can be expanded, I need to learn how to control them."

"Asuka," Shinji whispered.

"I have to face the cult," she said before he could continue.

"No, you don't," Shinji replied. "It is not our problem anymore."

"NERV cannot handle this!" Asuka replied emphatically, showing far more emotion than she had previously.

"And you can?" he challenged.

"Maybe not yet, but if I can master my gifts…" Shinji stood up walking towards the window. "Listen to me! There is no one else!"

"Asuka, just let Misato and the rest handle this."

"No," she said emphatically. "They cannot stop what is coming. The sacrifices are continuing."

"How can you-"

"I watched it happen," she interrupted. "When I received the Ignis Glyph from Gaibon, I received another thread from my mind. During the rituals they tortured me in, they were sacrificing innocents. The rituals are still going on, I can feel it."

Shinji went silent, as if thinking about something. For nearly a full 15 seconds, which felt like an eternity, he stayed silent before he finally spoke.

"Alright," Shinji finally relented. "I'll send word of the cult activities to Maya and Misato."

"But I-"

"You need to master your skills," Shinji interrupted. "And I know someone who can help you do that." He faced her. "Her name is Selina Sumara; she lives in a remote and rather primitive village in central Hokkaido. Selina is one of our primary sources of information when it comes to the occult. She's an expert in all forms of written magic. If anyone can help you with your unique powers, it's her."

"Thank you," Asuka whispered.

"Don't thank me yet," Shinji replied. "She's bound to be a pretty rough trainer. She has little patience for people in general."

"When can we go?"

"Tommorrow morning, we'll leave for Hokkaido." He paused. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Asuka sighed, feeling nervousness filter into her again. "So do I, Shinji-kun… so do I."

* * *

 _Asuka cried out as another red hot stiletto was pushed into her stomach. How was she not dead yet? The pain was absolutely unbearable. She heard the chanting continue from the congregation here and wondered how much more of this madness she could endure._

 _Time seemed to skip, she was on her back now. She could still feel the blood oozing from the 10 wounds she received during the first half of the ritual. Her body exposed but she felt hot rather than cold. She turned her head, which was all she could do as she felt the chains on her wrists and ankles holding her spread eagle against the altar._

 _She beheld only the shape of a man sitting Indian-style in midair. A massive glyph of power surrounded him and two orbs of energy, both gold and glowing, silently circled around the border of the glyph counter-clockwise. These moved along with an almost scythe-like blade that covered nearly half the circle. He had to be the one leading this group as his power was obviously quite immense._

" _She is perfect," she heard the floating man say. "Begin the inscription. She shall bare the marks of the master."_

 _Another man came into her view, also bald but this one she could see clearly. His eyes glowed beneath his monk's hood as he held an implement that was at once a blade and a pen, with its tip white hot._

"Dominus dicit sacrificium… _" he said aloud as he prepared to scribe the first symbol…_

With a silent cry she gasped herself awake. Her sheets were soaking wet around her, just as bad as the other night. Wordlessly she got up and moved silently to her bathroom, as he tried to calm her breathing. Unlike the apartment, there was a separate bathroom for her here so she wouldn't disturb Shinji.

Turning on the light, she splashed herself with cool water and tried desperately to calm herself down. Her eyes opened beholding her haggard appearance in the mirror. She realized immediately that she still didn't truly recognize herself.

"My mind is only allowing me to remember the bad things," Asuka whispered. "I wish I could start getting some good memories." She was starting to think her entire life was one tragedy after another, and that the current events were but a mere shadow of what came before them. She hopped to God she was wrong…

* * *

 _But you told me to love you and I did,_

 _Traded my emotions for a contract to commit_

 _And when I got away I only got so far,_

 _The other me is dead,_

 _I hear his voice inside my head_

* * *

"I have heard of backwater but this place is pretty out there. Still it is nice to find someone that can help me. I do not understand why Shinji was so negative about Selina; she seems perfectly okay to me. In fact, she is like a mother to me… but I cannot believe I have to fight my way to a training ground!"

 **Next Chapter: The Teacher**

* * *

 **Omake**

Asuka looked towards him. "The uniforms of the cultists that attacked us… they look familiar?"

"Based on what I've been able to piece together," Shinji explained, "and their appearance, I believe these cultists might be part of a group called 'The Sons of Shaft'."

"They sound like some bad mother-"

"Shut your mouth!" Shinji interrupted.

"I was just talking about the Sons of Shaft."

 _Admit it… you were thinking it…_


	3. The Teacher

The city of Aomori-2 was located about 15 miles inland from where the original Aomori was once located. This was mostly due to the risen sea levels since Second Impact. Here, the town had established a ferry to take travelers to the northern main island of Japan, Hokkaido.

"I wish you could come with me," Asuka said as she looked out the window of the ferry station at the boat that would take her, and several dozen other people and their vehicles to Hokkaido.

"I'm needed at NERV," Shinji replied. "But I would rather come with you as well. Misato sends her love and her luck."

Asuka smiled softly. "I hope one day to meet my bosses again, and maybe remember them." The thought of her lost memories made her sad. Shinji held her from behind before she could say anything, leaning his face down on her shoulder.

"You'll get it back, I know you will."

"I hope so Shinji-kun," she said softly. Shinji released her only long enough to hold her properly.

"How does the new shirt feel?" Shinji asked.

"Weird," she replied as she let go. "I can tell I never wore anything exactly like this before."

Asuka was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that zipped in the front. Under it though was a shirt that tied off around her neck and left her entire back completely exposed along with her upper arms. A pair of arm warmers covered her forearms from her wrists to her elbows. In addition, she wore her normal jeans and boots.

"Just remember to take your hoodie off if you need to fight."

Asuka nodded. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

Shinji sighed. "I guess so… You'll be back before you know it though."

Asuka nodded, but she could feel the tears starting to well in her eyes. "I miss you already," she whispered, unable to control them.

"Asuka," Shinji whispered as she all but threw herself on him. He was about to say something to her when Asuka suddenly let go and did something that she had only tried once before. She felt Shinji nearly freeze in shock as her lips forcefully met his own. Asuka didn't care, she needed to show him what she felt, and after an awkward moment, he began to return the gesture.

After nearly a minute of this they separated and Shinji suddenly seemed embarrassed.

"Asuka… I…"

"Shush," she replied immediately. "I wanted to do that with you. Shinji, I do not remember anything that happened before I awoke in your apartment five days ago, but I remember one thing. We may not have been together, but it is what I wanted."

Shinji's look was one of shock.

"I do not know how I know this, but my feelings tell me it is true. You and I were meant to be together, and when I return from my training, we truly will be. I promise you."

"Asuka," he whispered, the feeling palpable in his voice.

They both heard the announcement that the ferry was leaving shortly.

"Time to go," Asuka whispered. "I will return home safely, I swear it."

After one last hug to a stunned Shinji, Asuka made her way towards the docks.

' _What will I find on Hokkaido I wonder?'_ Asuka mused.

* * *

 **III: The Teacher**

* * *

Nearly 12 hours later, Asuka, tired and hungry arrived at the town of Kakeio. She couldn't sleep on the overnight bus ride though the wilderness; a ride onboard what was affectionately known as the Hokkaido Express. The cold here was worse than she expected it to be but shivered only a little under her hoodie. As she walked down the main street, it felt like stepping back into the past. The roads were in such a state of disrepair, they were reduced in many places to gravel or straight dirt. In other places she could see the people had begun to build old fashioned cobblestone roads. Yet the town had electricity, though she wondered how well maintained the power grid was here.

Getting her bearings Asuka found someone who was walking along the street in this early hour. The woman was dressed in layers of clothing to keep out the cold.

"Excuse me?" Asuka said, trying to get the woman's attention.

"Hello," the lady said as she stopped. "Goodness child! Aren't you cold wearing so little?"

"A little, I will be okay though. I was wondering if you know someone by the name of Selina Sumara?"

"Ah yes," the woman replied immediately. "She runs the local library. A bit of an eccentric that one, doesn't seem to like people too much, but she's civil enough I suppose. Just follow this street until you get to the main intersection, and then keep going a little further. The Library is on the corner just before the next cross street on the left."

"Thank you so much," Asuka replied.

"Are you a student?" the lady asked her.

"In a manner of speaking," Asuka replied vaguely before resuming her walk.

A few minutes later she reached the library. The building was a good three stories tall and much of the sidewalk around it was well maintained astonishingly. The street however was in a bad state of disrepair, and she doubted that anything short of a truck or SUV could traverse it without suffering damage to its suspension system.

She entered the library, immediately feeling warmer, but she didn't get a lot of time to enjoy it.

"We're not opened yet!" came an annoyed voice from upstairs. "Go away and come back later." Asuka made out a whisper that sounded like, "I knew I should have locked the damn door."

"Sumara-sama?" Asuka called out, hoping an honorific might placate the woman.

"I'm no one's master child, go away!"

"I need you to be my master," Asuka replied. "I was told you could help me."

"Oh yeah? By whom?"

"Ikari Shinji," Asuka called up. "He said you can help me to master the magic of the glyphs."

Silence suddenly reigned for a few long and awkward seconds. Then suddenly she appeared the top of the stairs.

She was dressed in the style of a western matron, with visible boots, a long dark skirt, and a formal buttoned jacket over what appeared to be a white blouse. Over all of this she wore a dark shawl over her shoulders and head giving her a very mage-like and mystical appearance. Her eyes held a pale glow to them, virtually unnoticeable, unless you were touched by magic. Their almost icy blue color gave her an air of mystery about her.

"You bare glyphs now?" she asked, now with interest.

"Yes," Asuka replied. "Not by choice."

The woman made her way quickly down the stairs to Asuka. "Show me," she nearly commanded.

Asuka unzipped her hoodie and let it drop from her shoulders then turned around. She heard a shift in the woman's breathing pattern indicating either surprise or astonishment. Asuka suddenly heard her removing a glove and then felt a fingertip trace one of the circles. Asuka was about to protest suddenly being touched like this but knew doing so would hurt her chances of gaining the woman's help. Also the tracing felt rather interesting; it almost as if she could feel the energy of the marks being disturbed like ripples on the surface of a pond.

"How do you get these?" the woman asked.

"I am still unsure," Asuka replied honestly. "My memory is gone, and what fragments I get seem nightmarish. As far as I can tell, I was the guest of some kind of cult. Shinji believes they were part of a group called…"

"The Sons-of-Shaft," Selina said, completing the thought. "Yes, I recognize their handiwork."

"Then you know why they marked me like this?" Asuka asked.

"I have a theory, though I don't know how much you would believe it. As you probably know, the cult is trying to revive their dark lord. In order to do so they need to sacrifice much in the way of souls and blood. You bear the marks of Dominus, which in this case binds your essence to the dark lord."

Asuka's heart starting beating, she didn't think it was going to be as bad as all this. Selina continued.

"If you are sacrificed now, you might be used as a portal though which the full spirit of the dark lord can enter the mortal plane again. Of course this is a double-edged sword, as most magic tends to be. The marks can be mastered and though such mastery you could learn to channel the power of the dark lord and use it to destroy him.

"No wonder they want me back so badly," Asuka reasoned. "I'm the way he can enter the world, but should I master this power, I can also act as his destroyer."

"Do you know why Shinji sent you to me?" she asked.

"He told me you can help train me," Asuka noted.

"Yes, but I am also one of the few in the world who can give you the knowledge of Dracula that you will need to defeat his minions and prevent his resurrection."

Asuka nodded her understanding. "In that case we should…" Asuka froze, something felt off suddenly and she realized it was the feeling of magic being used in the vicinity. She noted Selina herself also sensed it and moved back from the front side of the room.

Suddenly the windows burst open letting more than just the chill air in. In a spray of glass, the room was suddenly intruded upon by a group of half a dozen skeletons armed with light armor and spears. Asuka instantly sprang into action, summoning a sword and shield to aid her, dodging the first spear thrusted her way she spun around and took off the head of the first attacker then quickly deflected the next attempt with her shield before pushing forward to strike the killing blow.

Two skeletons attempted to get within killing distance simultaneously forcing her to backflip away before she leapt over their second thrusts and dropped between them. She took out one with a quick sword swipe but was nailed across the back of the head with a spinning shaft from the other. Before he could capitalize on his small victory she had her shield ready to deflect what would have been a perfect thrust and spun her way back in for the kill shot.

Asuka looked for the two remaining and heard bones shattering behind her. She spun and saw one of the skeletons was destroyed already, taken out by a heavy staff in the hands of Selina. She quickly disarmed the second before sending a bolt of electrical fury from her hand into its center mass blowing the bones completely apart in the process. It was only then that she noted that she had removed her gloves and glyphs where inscribed into the backs of her hands. Asuka did notice that Selina's glyphs were far less complex than her own being simple inscriptions in a rough circle on each hand.

"Impressive," came a voice. Seconds later the door blew off its hinges revealing a mage in red. His face was covered from just below his nose down and a hood covered the rest. Yellow eyes glowed from behind the hood. Asuka noted a book was on his side, attached to his belt, and looked rather ancient.

"Decius was right to worry," he continued. "You're mastering the powers granted to you rather quickly."

"Rastur," Selina hissed upon recognizing him.

"Oh, hello there Selina, I barely noticed you," Rastur said nonchalantly. "How's life treating you?"

' _They know each other?'_ Asuka thought.

"Better than you," Selina hissed back.

"A little witch like you has no business in this affair, I suggest you back off."

"Never," she hissed back. "This is my student."

"Oh? Let's see what your student has learned thus far then, shall we?" With a wave of his hand a shield of energy separated Selina from Asuka. "Come child," he taunted. "Let's play."

Asuka summoned a sword in place of her shield and readied herself for combat. "Fine." Asuka rushed forward on the attack only to swing at air.

He had managed to shift right leaving a trail of images in his wake. "Useless… you're far too slow," he taunted. Several bands like wraps on a mummy drifted from his sleeves and he lashed out with them.

Asuka cried out in pain as the lashes hit her, slicing skin like a set of whips. One wrapped around her ankle, throwing her into the nearby bookcases with great force. Asuka felt the pain but wondered briefly how her back didn't break from such a hit. Getting out of the ruined shelves, she quickly rolled left as the lashes came down on her position again. She switched to axes and threw both simultaneously only to watch Rastur side spin in such a way that the axes where thrown off course in two different directions. Dismissing them she summed out her rapiers and tried to rapidly stab at him. His movements were far too fast for such at tactic to be effective. She suddenly found a hand over her stomach.

"Suffer," he whispered as he pulled back, pulling a mass of blood out of her simultaneously as if through her skin. She nearly puked at feeling the sudden pull of blood from her body. She was then kicked back against the shield, feeling herself being slammed once again. Her eyes focused as the mass of blood was dropped onto one of the destroyed skeletons. The bones suddenly became coated in the blood and started reforming itself into a now bloody skeleton.

Asuka pulled herself up in time to feel the shield shatter. Selina had apparently been working on it the entire time but Asuka was too focused on her fight to notice her new teacher's actions.

"Enough!" she yelled and unleashed a torrent of holy power from her left hand with a few words. Rastur's skeleton was disintegrated by the attack, but Rastur himself was able to shield himself from the energy, if only barely. A sudden flash of holy energy kept him at bay as Selina and Asuka quickly escaped out the back of the library.

"That was close," Asuka commented as she followed Selina.

"We'll be safe in the woods," Selina commented. "My magic can shield us from his eyes there."

"You have fought him before?" Asuka asked.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I'm really no match for him either."

After running for nearly 10 minutes they stopped by a large tree. Asuka finally tried to fully catch her breath only to nearly retch again. Her world started to spin forcing her to her knees on the cold ground.

"I feel dizzy," she whispered.

Selina got down to her level and held the lip of an opened bottle to her mouth. Asuka drank the fluid, noting a taste similar to licorice… not her favorite but not enough to make her not drink it. The moment the liquid reached her stomach she felt the pain from her injuries start to ease and the dizziness started to abate. Even her nausea was beginning to ease.

"Thank you… what was that?"

"A brew of my own design," Selina replied.

"Are you some kind of witch?" Asuka asked, remembering what Rastur had called her but now thinking it wasn't really meant as an insult.

Selina chuckled at that. "I suppose I am." Her mirth faded almost as fast as it came. "You actually handled yourself well for someone with no formal training."

"It was not enough," Asuka replied sadly.

"Against someone like Rastur, no… It wouldn't be enough. But you fought off his creations easily enough, and that says something."

Asuka sighed looking around the forest. "So what happens now?"

"We keep going," she replied immediately. "I have a hidden house where I train prospective mages. It's on the North-East face of Mount Tomuraushi. My magic will keep Decius's minions from following us, though you'll need to rest up at the foot of the mountain."

"For the climb?" Asuka asked.

"Not exactly," Selina replied.

* * *

A few hours later, Asuka prepared to bed down for the night. Selina was able to conjure a proper shelter and some sleeping bags. After tending to the fire Asuka stepped into the shelter and sat on her bag. She then noticed Selina looking at her with an almost thoughtful expression.

"Why do you stare at me so?" Asuka asked.

"Sorry," Selina replied apologetically. "It's just that… you're about my daughter's age… and you remind me a lot of her."

"Oh," Asuka replied, wondering if she should be honored or not. "Is she a mage as well?"

"She walks… a different path," Selina replied with an almost avoidant air to her tone.

"Not a good one," Asuka noted. The look of sadness on Selina's face seemed to indicate she was on the right track. "I do not mean to push."

"She joined the cult against my wishes," Selina replied in a low voice. "I did everything I could to keep her from falling away from the lord's embrace but… alas, she had other plans."

"I am truly sorry," Asuka replied. "I do not have any memory of my own mother, though I get the feeling she was… troubled."

"Troubled?"

Asuka shivered a little, pulling her knees to her chest. An image came to her, unbidden, of the silhouette of a woman hanging by her neck. Next to it a small doll that appeared to resemble Asuka herself hung nearby. A flash of lightning and thunder erupted at that moment and the shadows on the wall thrown by the lightning almost appeared to show the doll with strings from its hands and feet as well.

"I believe she took her own life, and may have been insane," Asuka noted.

"I see," Selina replied. "Then perhaps it was fated that we have been brought together; we are the missing parts of each other's lives."

Asuka raised her head as Selina came closer to give her a hug, and she buried herself into the older woman wordlessly. She trusted this woman who would risk her life to save hers, and thought of her as a daughter in some small way. Being near this woman made the cold retreat from her and made her feel comfortable.

"I will help you restore what you have lost," Selina promised.

" _Danke_ …"

* * *

Hours after the pair woke up, they finished breakfast and proceeded up the slope of the mountain via a path, but they barely cleared a few hundred feet up when they came across their next obstacle.

"You have to be kidding me," Asuka deadpanned as she stared at the entrance to this cave. The rock around the entrance was carved into an opened mouth with its face appearing almost agonized. Inside she could sense similar energies to those she felt outside the cave near Shinji's safe-house.

"This cave has been a lure for the supernatural since even before written history," Selina explained. "In fact, where we're going is actually the site of an ancient training ground used by our ancestors. The cave is part burial ground and part rite-of-passage. It was believed anyone who could survive the cave would be worthy of the divine knowledge that they would receive."

"I really cannot believe I have to fight my way to a training ground, though I guess it makes sense to weed out those who could not possibly comprehend or absorb the knowledge."

"You won't be facing the trial alone though, I am here with you."

"Just the same, if this really is some kind of rite-of-passage, perhaps I should try to clear the way myself."

Selina smiled slightly. "You really are a lot like my daughter; she would have said the same thing." The older woman chuckled thoughtfully then gestured forward. "After you then."

Without hesitation Asuka tossed her hoodie to Selina and entered the cave. It was rough unhewn stone but only for the first 200 fee, then as the path continued, it turned to smooth stone with vertical supports every 15 feet or so. These appeared to be part of the wall itself, squared off at its edges and carved with a simple design. In the spaces between supports, there was a torch mounted on the wall that glowed with unnatural flames, though Asuka was now used to ever-burning sources of fire.

Until after she reached the first set of stone doors, she hadn't seen anything aggressive. She could tell Selina was trailing her by about 100 feet or so to give her plenty of room, just in case combat was necessary. Asuka passed through the doors into another corridor. Like the other, this one was stone top and bottom but the left side was opened into a lit cavern with the supports breaking the view every 15 feet. The corridor here spiraled upwards on a gradual slant with the center of the mountain solid. Asuka estimated the distance between the edge of the path and the sheer wall that formed the mountain's core to be about 500 feet or more.

Floating in the air above the ground was a young girl. She had short light brown hair, glowing blue eyes and was partially transparent. Her clothing looked like something a ragged pauper would wear if they were living in 16th century America. She raised her hands above her head and unleashed a blast of three almost spectral energy bolts that seemed to claw at the air as they moved, and all were converging on Asuka's position.

Asuka summoned her swords quickly and rolled forward causing the energy to overshoot, then leapt into the air to strike at the ghostly figure, only to have it fly past her leaving confusing images behind it.

"This again?!" Asuka exclaimed as the apparition turned to face her while still floating away releasing another set of bolts. Asuka managed to summon a shield to block the attacks but the burst of energy left sent her crashing unceremoniously to the floor.

"Okay, now I am annoyed," Asuka whispered as she got up and summoned her axes. She waited until the ghostly figure was committed to summoning her bolts of energy before leaping into the air and throwing both. The ghost was able to dodge them easily and fire off her bolts but didn't dodge the deadly axes on the return trip. Asuka spun laterally in mid-air to avoid the spirit attack as the axes punched though the apparition causing it to dissipate rapidly, as if evaporating. Asuka caught her axes and landed in a crouch.

"Piece of cake," she whispered then heard ghostly sounds behind her. She turned around only to see five more of the same apparitions appearing to phase though the walls to her position. "Of course, it could not have been that easy."

Three of the apparitions released their deadly attacks at the same time while the other two broke in two directions, having little room on the ground to maneuver, Asuka elected to roll back dragging the projectiles into a converging trajectory before jumping over them all and causing them to miss completely. Switching her glyphs to fire, she landed and began throwing fire balls at the nearest ghost. The female specter was overwhelmed by the volume of energy thrown her way and was quickly dissolved in flames. The second tried to get into a killing position only to have fireballs thrown at her as well forcing her to retreat. The other three lowered their altitude and prepared to fire again. Asuka quickly switched to Axes and threw them at the ones on either side of the middle while rushing at the center ghost. Both side ghosts were destroyed by the sudden attack while the third managed to release her spiritual blasts. Asuka rolled under the attack and dismissed her axes calling for swords at that moment. Before the ghost could fly back the red-head unleashed a cross-slash with her weapons that destroyed the ghost utterly.

She spun at that moment to dodge shots thrown from the last of them. She tried to fly back though the wall but Asuka was not having that, quickly switching to daggers and throwing them at a break neck pace the apparition was tagged then killed before it could flee.

"Good thing I learn quickly," Asuka noted.

Asuka took off on a run towards the main doors on the other end of the spiral hall. Upon entering the next room she met her next challenger. Another female monster, this time with massive nearly angelic wings and a huge lance in her left hand appeared in the air before her. The winged female protected herself with a shield in her right hand that bared no heraldry. As its wings opened they radiated light and Asuka was all at once stunned, but not because of the light…

 _Her hands rested on the controls of her EVA, 90 meters of angel kicking bio-mech held up a massive weapon. Despite not seeing anything within the targeting overlay other than lock on lines slowly converging over a mass of storm clouds, she knew what it was she was targeting._

 _All of a sudden the angel was visible as the sky parted in radiant energy. Its wings stretched in the sky and radiated a brilliant heavenly light. Instantly, Asuka's mind was assaulted by psychic visions that tore her worst memories to the surface._

Reality slammed back into Asuka mere seconds before she would have been impaled. Quickly dodging out of the way, she was still shaken by the vision. She summoned her sword and shield and prepared for the enemy's next attack.

The winged woman dove towards Asuka again leaving no time to get a shot in, so Asuka blocked the attack and deflected it away causing the enemy to back-wing away from her.

"No escape!" Asuka taunted as she leapt forward to try to run her enemy through. Without warning the winged female thrusted her wings down and attacked again. Asuka managed to block the attack but was now being forced higher into the air from the force of the attack and its repeated attempts to impale her. Knowing she was mere seconds from being slammed into the ceiling, Asuka deflected the attack away and managed to plunge her sword into the chest of her enemy. A scream resounded as it fell to the ground and Asuka managed to stick the landing nearby.

Asuka nearly vomited as the realization of what had happened to her before came flooding back suddenly. The feelings of mental violation and brief glimpses of a terrible life flashed in her mind, and it took all of her willpower to keep her breakfast from becoming floor paint.

"Angels," she whispered. "We were fighting angels… why were we rebelling against God?" The mere thought that she was involved in something so undeniably evil made her gag again, and nearly regurgitate. What kind of person was she?

Knowing she had no place to go but forward, she pushed down the desire to run from all of this and continued. "No turning back now." She looked towards the angelic figure she fought seeing her body had already dissipated into blue flame, but it left behind a glyph that floated silently in the air above where the body rested.

Asuka wasted no time in absorbing this glyph into her collection. As she let her hair back down she activated it in place of her sword creating a spear instead.

"Quite the arsenal I have been collecting," she mused to herself.

Ahead of her was a ramp up to a door that was all too familiar; it was stone and held an odd glow to it.

"The last time I entered one of these doors, a nasty fire spewing demon and those axe wielding armors were inside. What sort of trap is awaiting me this time, I wonder." She pushed forward touching the door and releasing the seal on it. As it rose up into the door frame, she readied her swords in reverse grips and entered the room. Predictably as before, the door slammed shut behind her… she didn't bother trying to open it again.

The room was massive, no upper ledges existed this time but the sheer size of the room was almost daunting. She guessed it was at least 150 meters to the other side of the room, and the ceiling was very high, dominated by an almost shell-like design sitting in the center of it covered in webs. The shell reminded Asuka of a pill bug or other such crustacean-like creature. Then to her horror, it moved.

Asuka watched silently as the webbing split apart and the monster inside dropped from the ceiling, righting itself on the way down. It was the size of a semi-truck, with massive scythe-like blades attached to its sides on powerful appendages. It's weight caused it to make a loud bang as it landed, sending fragments of stone in all directions. Its eight legs were pointed like massive spear tips, and the entire body was very well armored. Just above its almost insect-like head was a dome-like cap that opened revealing the horrifying visage of a human-like face.

"I would take 10 fire demons over something lilke this," Asuka noted as the creature began to sway back and forth on its legs as if dancing out a challenge.

Asuka rushed forward quickly rolling right to dodge a massive scythe-arm. She noted the blade dug nearly 2 feet into solid stone with that hit and was removed easily. Deciding she would not want to be subjected to such damage she dashed in on the creature's flank and struck with both blades only to watch the edges spark across the armor of the creature. It turned to face her almost unnaturally fast and Asuka was once again forced to dodge. Getting distance in a reverse roll, she noticed the giant human-like face inhaling. It did so for almost a full three seconds then it released a net of webbing from its mouth in a high arching shot. The creature struck trying to get her under the web as it landed but Asuka was fast enough to evade the attack.

"I have to stay ahead of this thing. If it corners me or sticks me to the floor, I will not survive this."

After deciding on her best course of action she rushed at the creature again dodging its attacks and striking at its head, but even here the armor was too thick for her tactics to succeed. A sweeping strike managed to catch Asuka and hooked her throwing her into the left side wall of the arena.

"Ow," she whispered but quickly moved from the wall as the monster came charging back in again. Asuka tried circling around it but was unable to fully do so as the monster spun to face her and nearly nailed her with a scything arm. Asuka used an improvised limbo to dodge the attack but she felt the wind off of the blade.

Rolling forward she ran towards the other side of the room. She watched as the monster literally jumped back, rolled into a massive ball, and started rolling right at her. Asuka quickly dodged to the left and managed to get out of its way, but it deflected off the wall and change directions coming right at her again. Barely dodging a second time she was nailed as it bounced a third time and the force of the hit threw her to the side. Quickly she got to her feet but was instantly stuck in place with webbing.

" _Schiss,_ "she whispered realizing she was stuck. The creature stopped slamming both of its scythes into the ground as the cover over the human face closed again. The mouth of the insect head opened revealing a huge charge up of energy and Asuka knew she was dead. In a last ditch effort to survive she switched both hands over to her shields and activated them both just as a beam of devastation was unleashed upon her. Her eye clenched closed, she felt the heat around her and the horrendous roar of the air being heated and forming a partial vacuum. She blew all of the air out of her lungs she could and held what little breath remained until the ended. Gasping she managed to get her breath back as the air cooled, then she noticed it.

In front of her outstretched hands was a massive singular shield which took the full brunt of the attack without so much as a scratch.

"I… can combine glyphs?" Asuka questioned, and then heard the roar of the monster again. Apparently it was none too pleased that Asuka was still alive. Switching to sword and fire she rushed forward brandishing a now flaming two-handed sword.

She slashed a web out of midair, burning it away as she continued her charge. The monster met her half way and the blade of her sword met the left side scything blade. She strained under the strength but her new found adrenaline rush gave her the power to push forward. She leapt into the air striking the now again uncovered human face and earned the shrieking sounds of pain she so desired.

"Should have guessed from the beginning that this was your weakness," she said triumphantly when she landed on the ground and pressed the attack. As she continued to slash at its face from the ground, she dodged attempts to strike her by jumping and ducking in time with the attacks. She cut webs out of the air and pressed her advantage until the face was both bloody and burnt. Finally, her luck ran out as she was nailed with the back end of a scything blade and thrown across the arena.

Cradling an arm over her stomach she saw she was between two pillars. The monster rushed at her again at full speed leaving Asuka little time to formulate a strategy. In a brief moment of inspiration she saw the angelic figure charging her with its spear in her mind and rushed forward switching to dual spear glyphs.

Again she was battered out of her attack and used her double jump ability to right her fall but realized now she was about to get trampled when she landed. In a last ditch effort she combined both spear glyphs.

" _Absterben!_ " she screamed as she unleashed a massive spear with an almost arrowhead shaped blade bigger than she was. The blade penetrated the human face and punched deep into the creature. The monstrous thing suddenly bottomed out and slid to a halt before Asuka landed, having come down with a sudden case of death.

Asuka, breathing hard watched as the creature was engulfed in blue flames and disintegrated before her.

"It is over," Asuka whispered. In the monster's place was a new glyph, this one resembled a sickle like blade. She eagerly absorbed it then summoned it forth to see what it was.

A sickle-like blade appeared in her hand. Summoning one in her other hand she combined them to create a huge scythe she could wield on two hands. "Nice."

She made the weapon vanish as she heard the doors on either end of the arena finally open. Selina entered looking amused.

"It appears you have passed the test, my daughter… er! I mean… Asuka." She looked embarrassed by her own sudden slip and presumption.

"Actually… I kind of liked the sound of the first one," Asuka said with a little embarrassment visible on her pale face. Selina smiled gently at that.

"Now that the trial is over, we can continue traveling the rest of the way to the training grounds without further conflict. You have done very well."

"Thank you… mama." Her own admission caused her to blush a little, but she knew she wanted this since last night. Selina was taking care of her like a real mother should have.

' _Perhaps this is the start of something better for me,'_ she mused.

* * *

After a further 20 minutes of walking, Selina and Asuka finally reached the top. Here trees surrounded a partial plateau a mere 100 feet from the peak of the mountain. Everything was covered in a light dusting of snow, much to Asuka's surprise. The grounds were surrounded in pillars as well, with the entrance to the path down forming a rise of stone to complete the entrance. Around the corner of either side was an opened area where the mountains and the rest of the surrounding area could be seen. To Asuka, it was a breathtaking sight.

Selina had built a two story house against the cliff wall near the point where the plateau gave up and the final rise to the peak began. It was in a style of old Romania or perhaps Austria with a mixture of wood, cobblestone and thatched roofs. It was perfect in Asuka's eyes.

"So this will be home for a time," Asuka noted.

"For about three months at least," Selina. "I figure that it will take that long to teach you what you need to know, and for me to create the remaining glyphs you will require to fulfill your mission."

"My mission," Asuka echoed. "Enough power to destroy the Sons of Shaft, once and for all." The mere sound of their name now was a nearly 10-fold curse off of her tongue. "I will make them pay for what they did to me, and all those poor innocent girls they sacrificed to make it happen." She looked to Selina. "I have a purpose."

"Indeed you do," Selina agreed. "And I will help you to fulfill that purpose."

* * *

 _We were never alive,_

 _And we won't be born again_

 _And I will never survive,_

 _With dead memories in my heart_

 _Dead memories in my heart_

 _Dead memories in my heart_

* * *

"Three long months and I have completed my training under my new mama. I am so happy to be home! Shinji is so important to me, and I will be glad to be back with him. Maybe I should show him just how happy he makes me! These cultists are getting bolder all the time, but I thought they were after me… I am not their target? What is going on here?"

 **Next Chapter: Return to Tokyo-2**


	4. Return to Tokyo-2

**A/N:** Lemon Warning

* * *

 _Confordere… Secare… Hasta…_

Time dragged on, and Asuka began to learn much from her new tutor.

 _Macir… Arcus… Ascia…_

Glyph by glyph she mastered her art, all the while becoming closer to the woman she now saw as her surrogate mother.

 _Falcius… Culter… Scutum…_

Soon, no power was beyond her reach. With Selina's help she began to master even more weapons like the bow, and more magic like ice and holy.

 _Lapiste… Pneuma… Ignius…_

Power came to her easily; she sprouted wings, moved at blinding speed, summoned torrents of elemental power. All the while she continued to learn more and more about glyphic magic from Selina.

It was the names that were the hard part. Asuka really didn't understand why she had to know these names, only that their power was hers to command. Who really cared that her rapier-like blades were called "Confordere" or that the power to cause blasts of wind to batter and throw her targets was called "Lapiste"? Only the end result mattered to her.

"At last, my daughter, I can teach you nothing more," Selina told her on the 90th day of her training. "You have learned everything I can teach you. The rest is now up to you to complete. Your power has grown beyond any Glyph user that has preceded you; you have mastered all of them. But heed this warning… TRUE mastery can only come with experience. You would be best served testing your new found power before you begin to face the cult directly."

"I have a feeling they will come for me as soon as I return to Tokyo-2," Asuka noted. "I will have ample opportunity to test my newfound powers."

"Show no mercy," Selina replied, perhaps with a bit more venom than Asuka thought the woman capable of. "They certainly will not give any to you either."

"No quarter then," Asuka replied. "Just the way I like it." She hugged her former teacher before bidding her final farewell and proceeding alone into the cave on her way back to the base of the mountain. If she hurried she might be able to make the Hokkaido express back to port before nightfall…

* * *

 **IV: Return to Tokyo-2**

* * *

Asuka stood at the platform of the northern-most subway station in Tokyo-2. It had taken nearly 2 days of travel to get here due to a recent storm causing havoc in northern Honshu. Mother Nature's wrath it seemed was still not fully placated. Asuka sighed in annoyance as she waited for the train to come.

She replayed Selina's words in her head warning her against using Dominus until she was ready. _"Under no circumstances can you use the three Dominus Glyphs you possess until the proper moment. You'll only be able to channel their power once."_ It was an enormous responsibility she realized, and she knew she had to see it to its conclusion. Dracula could not be allowed to return, no matter what the cost.

Just as the train was approaching, Asuka felt a shift in the air. Magic in the space around her became excited… there was another mage nearby, perhaps several mages. Her eyes narrowed down in annoyance. She was expecting to run into the cultists here in the city, but she wasn't expecting them to track her so soon; she only just arrived in the city. There were only a few others in the station near her but she did worry about the potential for bystanders to be caught in the crossfire. This time of night on a weekend though, there shouldn't be many people riding the subway. Maybe she would get lucky and find an entire car empty.

As soon as the doors opened she walked onboard calmly, moving towards the back of the train without any hurry. She didn't even bother to look in the direction of her aggressors, simply adjusted the hood of her cloak and kept walking. She pulled it tighter around her as it was colder here than she figured it would be, or perhaps that was just the energy of the mages. Perhaps they were trying to intimidate her.

She moved from car to car, noting the number of passengers in each. She got a few weird looks from men in suits and women who were clutching their purses to their chests. The bottom half of her boots drew attention from several onlookers, appearing to be armored with dark bronze metal, otherwise she kept herself fully covered.

Finally she reached the last car, only a few people were in this one, and they all stood together off in the far corner. They seemed annoyed at her presence, and Asuka immediately decided they were probably up to something less than legal. They were about to get quite the show.

"I _thought_ that was you," one of the men said as they walked in. He was dressed in normal street attire but had the smell of a warlock on him; old incense and blood. His buddy was also plain clothes but the way his eyes took in the room, she could tell he was also more than he seemed to be. "You may not be the one we're looking for, but Decius will be glad we found you as well... Asuka."

"That is Miss Langley to you," Asuka said with a dangerous edge in her voice. The bystanders shifted their demeanor from annoyance to nervousness.

"Ho ho, sounds like we got a fighter on our hands," the cultist commented with an amused grin on his face. "I heard you killed a few our men. You won't find us so easy to defeat."

"I rather doubt that," Asuka noted.

"And what makes you so confident, I wonder?"

"I'll tell you," Asuka replied as she faced the cultists and grabbed hold of the front of her cloak. "When I faced those intruders in my apartment I was lashing out instinctively, little more than a flail of desperation… but now…"

Asuka pulled the cloak off in one motion tossing it aside and showing her new look in all its glory. Her boots were armored up to her knees and the under layer stopped at mid-thigh leaving the rest of her legs exposed. The under cloth was Jet Black with red borders around the edges. A skirt-like cloth hung around her waist but was slitted up the front on both sides exposing her legs while covering the back and sides. Her belt was also armored in overlapping links. The black cloth of her dress only covered her front up around her neck leaving her back, shoulders and upper arms exposed. A bit of light plate protected her chest but left her stomach uncovered. Fingerless gloves ran up above her elbows but from below the elbow down, she was further protected by gauntlets with pointed fingertips resembling talons. Glyphic tattoos covered her upper arms reaching over her shoulders and stretching to her shoulder blades, where they appeared to wrap around the glyph circles there. Another massive glyphic tattoo encompassed her entire back wrapping around the sides and lower half off the main circle. Unseen by all but felt by Asuka, the symbols within the circles lit up almost sequentially as if she were powering up, and a pale red glow covered the new glyphs.

"Now, I have mastered the powers afforded me by your cult's meddling in my life," she concluded. "No Dark Lord can save you from me." She summoned forth her swords causing the tattoos over her upper arms and shoulders to move and shift into a new design. The blades were ornate this time with wicked edges and expensive looking embellishments. A gasp from the onlookers was all the response she heard from them and she knew they were trying to plaster themselves to the walls away from her.

"You talk tough," the warlock retorted, though the look on his face told her what she already knew. His confidence at her new appearance rattled him. "But let's see how you handle this!" He threw his left hand forward throwing forth a blast of raw dark energy. Asuka quickly slid to her right leaving a trail of images in her wake before her back glyph shifted and she launched forward with great speed.

The warlock managed to block the attack with a sword he summoned himself. His partner backed off a bit and began to quickly run through an incantation aloud. Trying to gain the upper hand, the warlock attempted to press his attack only to find that Asuka was stronger than he was. Pressing her advantage she launched into a flurry of strikes with her blades in reverse grips almost striking the killing blow before the warlock managed to get back away.

Asuka readied herself as she saw the Warlock had fallen back to his partner. The incantation was completed and the partner raised his hands up summoning three skeletons in light plate armor that were wielding a pair of blades just as Asuka was, in reverse grips. Asuka smiled evily as the skeletons launched forward with intent to slaughter. A scream was heard from the bystanders.

Asuka switched to wielding a pair of hammers, dodging the attacks from all three skeletons with little effort, at one point even flipping back onto her hands which briefly no longer held weapons before launching forward and smashing the first skeleton with a massive overhand attack with a huge war maul.

As it shattered, the summoner seemed to be getting a little worried. A few quick moves made a mockery of the second skeleton while the third was simply kicked out of the train to be smashed against the passing wall at nearly 100 kph.

With the window broken Asuka's hair was now whipping behind her wildly. Her weapons switched to Sickles as her back glyph shifted again. This time when she launched herself forward she did so with such speed that her attackers couldn't see what she even did, only that one moment she was ahead of them and the next she was just past them. The warlock watched in horror as his partner suddenly burst into a shower of blood and gore, his own blood pressure tore his body to pieces as the attacks by Asuka compromised the target's structural integrity.

"Now," Asuka whispered as she turned to face the other. "I'm going to ask you only once… who was it you were looking for, if I wasn't your target."

"Go to hell," the warlock yelled back. "I would rather die than betray Decius!"

"Very well then," Asuka replied calmly. As she began to bring her hands closer together. With a battle cry the warlock rushed her, but Asuka never lost her demeanor. Her hands came together forming her sickles into an ornate scythe and upper slashed as the warlock got closer causing him to freeze. Asuka shut off her glyphs and retrieved her cloak, walking towards the front of the train car as the Warlock's body fell in a torrent of blood, split open from crotch to crown. The horrified screams of the onlookers faded behind her as she left.

* * *

The walk home took nearly 30 minutes from the train station. During this time Asuka began to think to herself. She ran through what she knew and tried to make sense of what was said on the train.

" _If I am not the cult's primary target right now, who is?"_

The idea that someone else has been caught up in this, and is somehow just as important to their plans, if not more so, disturbed her beyond words. Asuka bore the glyphs of Dominus; Anger, Agony, and Hatred. With this trifecta of power, she could summon forth the full power of Dominus and extinguish Dracula once and for all… or somehow bring about his return if she didn't use it at the right moment.

"Dominus… the manifestation of his power…" Asuka whispered to herself as she finally approached the apartment. "What a horrible thing to be stuck with."

Asuka entered the apartment. The lights were off and there was no sign that Shinji was home. Sighing heavily, she removed her gauntlets and unclipped the clasps on the backs of her boots removing them as well but leaving the thigh high undercloth and arm warmers in place. Her hands were uncovered now making it easier for her to remove the rest of the metal from her body. She carefully removed the belt and placed it on the table then released the two sets of clasps holding her breastplate in place, placing that against the wall next to the table.

"Feel better?" came a voice from the darkness causing Asuka to jump slightly.

"You scared me," Asuka noted with annoyance as the light faded on. Shinji sat on the couch looking like he hadn't slept in a few days. "Shinji-kun? What's wrong?"

"You're using contractions again," Shinji noted as his face shifted from a straight demeanor to a thoughtful smile. "Have you managed to get any of your memories back?"

"Not many," Asuka admitted as she quietly walked closer. "I do know what EVAs are now… and I have a few scattered memories of the war."

"I see," Shinji replied. "None of the good memories I'm noting."

"It started with a memory of being mind-raped by an angel…" Shinji frowned as she mentioned this. It was obvious to her that he had hoped that memory would not come back to her. "Shinji… why did we revolt against God?"

Shinji sighed. "Not an easy question to answer. Too many bad memories connected to this." He stood up, walking towards the window. "Mankind discovered an angel frozen in the Antarctic and tried a contact experiment. It awoke something horrible. Mankind tried to harness the power of God in that instant and God decided to hit back. That's the best way I can explain it in the end without going into hours of detail."

"We fought a war because of the actions of only a few people?" Asuka questioned, sounding almost sickened by the idea. In truth she was. When she had realized she was part of a war against heaven itself, she almost threw up, and the three months since that time have not made the admission any easier on her.

"We didn't win, but we didn't lose either," Shinji noted. "It'd be impossible to explain, but in the end we reached something of a truce."

"I see." Asuka stood next to him. "But we are without God now, aren't we?"

"I think that might be why people like Decius are trying to resurrect a tyrant like Dracula. They need someone to guide them, they're too week to guide themselves. They crave the presence of a god… in any form."

Asuka sighed. "I learned so much and yet it still feel as if I know so little."

"It will come back to you," Shinji whispered. "I know it will." He put a hand on her shoulder causing her to shiver slightly. She felt his hand slide over the back of her neck to push her hair away for a moment and this touch triggered a memory she didn't want.

 _She saw herself being suspended on just his hands, felt her throat closing as he strangled her. In the background she could hear herself yelling at him, calling him names, telling him he was worthless. She heard the word 'baka' used repeatedly… the Japanese word for 'idiot'. No wonder he hated her… why did she do that to him?! Another scene came to her, she was lying on the ground with the hands around her throat again only this time she was in her plug suit and they were on a beach. Her back against the sand… him straddling her… his hands around her throat… her hand at his face… hands loosen… tears are shed… his head lay upon her chest as her arm gently laid over his back in a gesture meant to be comforting…_

" _I feel sick…"_

With a gasp she pulled away causing Shinji to draw back. Her legs went weak and she fell to the floor in a kneeling position. She didn't feel herself hit the ground. Her hair splayed around falling partly in her face. Her hand slid under the wave of hair as her tears came unbidden.

" _Mein Gott…"_ was all she could say, the words barely a whisper.

"Asuka?"

"Another flashback…" She whispered. "Horrible… I was so, evil."

"You weren't evil, Asuka."

She spun her head to face him, her hair still in her face. "I was!" she protested. "I never stopped tormenting you! Not once!"

"Asuka?" Shinji drew closer.

Asuka shivered as the full brunt of the pain of what she had done came crashing down on her. She began to cry harder, her shoulders shaking with every sound she made.

"We always hurt the ones we love," Asuka noted. "That's what they say isn't it? Why did I have to be so mean to you? I knew how you felt about me, and I brushed you off as just a child with hentai thoughts… I never once even considered that you cared about me! I was so wrapped up in the man I couldn't have…"

Shinji knelt down by her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She shook at his touch, knowing he was so desperate to help her now. She tried to think back to the docks three months ago, she kissed him properly then, not like she tried in Katsuragi's apartment. It was genuine because she loved him… and now after all this time she can admit to herself that back then, she did love him as well. Pride destroyed her chance then, but now…

Her body heated up from within. Years of trying to save herself for a man who would never have her reached its ultimate limit. She didn't know if it was love or lust anymore, but she knew she needed to feel it… feel something… and in that moment of admitting to herself that perhaps she was actually the perverted one all this time, she took the initiative knowing full well Shinji would never do so.

Shinji yelped in surprise as he suddenly lost his balance and ended up on his back on the floor. Before he could recover Asuka straddled him, with her hands on his shoulders holding him down. Before he could protest Asuka kissed him desperately, closing her eyes as she did so. Shinji fell into the kiss but nearly froze as he realized she was unbuttoning his shirt. Asuka wasn't about to let him try to escape though. Her tongue probed deeper, her passion became overwhelming. He could do nothing but respond in kind.

When she finally paused her assault, it was only to release the tie on the back of her neck, grasp her dress at the hips and pull. She heard him gasp as the dress left her body, exposing her stomach, then her ribs and finally her pert breasts to him. She threw the dress aside and then removed her arm warmers. Before he could open his mouth and question what she was doing she took his hands and guided them directly to her breasts. His hands instinctively grasped them, kneading them gently and sending pleasurable sensations though her body.

"Don't resist," she whispered to him. "We need this… _I_ need this… I need _you_."

"Asuka," Shinji whispered, each syllable punctuated with emotion she never knew Shinji could express. It warmed her heart, as much as it pushed her libido further.

 _Love… lust… now in this room, is there a difference?_

She slid down his body, undoing the zipper and button on his pants and removing them, boxers and all in one swoop. She paused only for a moment to look at her prize and tried not to think about the fact that it was bigger than she expected. Just as she removed her own panties, Shinji apparently had enough of being an object and took the initiative.

Asuka squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly grabbed by the arms, and then nearly thrown to the floor. She laughed as he attacked her neck for moment before he hit a spot near her artery and sent sparks through her body, and then she moaned instead which seemed to spur him on as he ran his tongue over that spot instinctively.

" _Ja,_ " she managed to moan out as he nipped her neck lightly with his teeth. She felt him working his way down her collar bone then to her left breast where he all but latched on and nearly bit her nipple. The feeling that shot though her body at that point caused her to gasp in a mix of pleasure and pleasurable pain. She arched her back, all but shoving her breast into his face in the process. His hands were everywhere; his mouth was centralized on that breast. She never thought he was a breast man, but it would explain his fascination with Rei now that she thought about it.

A nip just below the nipple jolted her out of the thought. She grabbed him pulling him up into a kiss. He had become as desperate as she was, and her body continued to become warmer. The kiss was full of passion, beyond anything she ever knew and the warmth of his emotions seemed to flow from him into her. It was unending, there seemed to be no limit to what he could express to her now.

When they parted again, Shinji propped himself up and placed the tip of his manhood at her entrance. She was already so turned on that she needed no prompting. Her legs wrapped around him and pulled him down impaling herself on him, realizing too late that she might have been better served waiting a moment. Her body clamped down around the intruder. She felt too tight around him, gasping in more pain than pleasure this time, but she was undeterred.

He looked like he was going to say something and Asuka shut him with another kiss, pushing her heels into his upper thighs to try to spur him forward. He complied, pulling half out before pushing back into her body again. She felt him sliding in and out, each movement putting her into even greater levels of ecstasy, and the initial pain faded quickly. She moaned again… words left her mouth when they parted lips but even she didn't know what she was saying anymore. Her world began to melt around her; Shinji was all that existed.

The ripples within her core threatened to expand beyond the boundaries of her own body. She felt herself being picked up, but the connection between them never seemed to break. She was upright again, he was below her. She gasped as she felt his mouth seal over her breast again and arched her back as instinct now drove her to continue rolling her hips. She knew she was on his lap now but nothing else was known. Only the pleasure existed.

They were moving again. How long had it been? A few minutes? An hour? She had no idea. She found herself with something more comfortable than the hard floor or nothing at all at her back and he was pounding into her again. Every thrust seemed to destroy more of her awareness. Every kiss and bite brought her feelings she never knew existed. This was more than simple love… this was transcendence.

Finally after what felt like hours floating between levels of awareness, the ripples within her body reached critical mass and her emotions exploded. Her eyes clamped shut and she screamed as her body shuddered. She barely heard Shinji grunt and felt the warmth spread though her lower tummy. Her mind failed to connect the event with what actually happened to her as such a powerful orgasm would allow nothing further.

Her breath returned as she started to come back down, and the room partly faded into view. Shinji's weight was now fully upon her, and instinctively her arms wrapped around his upper body. Exhaustion swiftly followed along with a feeling of afterglow that caused her to suddenly feel the cold of the room. Before she managed to pass from consciousness, she felt something cover her and a pair of protective arms encircle her…

* * *

Asuka didn't know how long it had been. Her eyes opened and she found herself staring at the chest of Shinji. She felt the warmth around her. She moved a little, feeling the afterglow of what they had done. She knew it had to be a few hours at least since they made love, but she could still feel that her body was sensitive, especially in certain places. Her hand was across his chest and she felt his left arm possessively circling her small frame.

She sighed in contentment, knowing full well she never felt this level of ease in her entire life. Though much of her own past was hidden from her, she was putting the pieces together; a shattered home, an insane parent, repression, forced into success, weight of the world on her shoulders, and the worst of all of it, her abuse of the only person who ever truly loved her. She decided she would never again travel that road… She would never be anyone's puppet or minion again. Her own path still lay before her with only two things standing in the way of true happiness…

Count Vlad Tepes Dracula… and the Sons of Shaft. One no longer amongst the living, and the other trying to change that at any cost.

As if sensing she was thinking about terrible things, Shinji's grip on her increased slightly, though he didn't awaken. Asuka calmed her mind down realizing that on some level he was sensing her worries. She nuzzled into him, taking in the warmth of his body and signaling to his subconscious that all was well. As she lay, she noticed the feelings of her afterglow were slowly returning to her, eliciting a soft sigh from her. She smiled lecherously. If "morning wood" was truly a thing, she would not let it go to waste.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, it took over an hour from the time they awoke until the time Shinji and Asuka finally entered the kitchen to begin breakfast. Shinji was clad only in boxers while Asuka wore a large button up shirt with only the bottom three buttons closed. She knew he was wondering if she even put her panties back on this morning and decided she would let him wonder.

Shinji began preparing one of her favorite breakfasts, eggs, sausage, and corned beef hash. Shinji was never a fan of the hash, but Asuka loved it. Asuka for her part noticed he was quiet this morning and decided she would try to get the conversation going.

"So…" Asuka said aloud folding her hands on the table in front of her. The arms on the shirt were perhaps a little long as they covered most of her hands.

"We… did it," Shinji whispered barely even audible.

"Twice in fact. Still on shock Shin-chan?" Asuka replied playfully. "Or is it still so hard for you to understand how I feel?"

Shinji sighed and turned to face her. "I knew how you really felt about me, Asuka-chan," he explained. "It's just that… after everything that happened to me, I never once even considered that I would feel something like this in my entire life."

"This?" She questioned, wanting to hear him say it.

"Loved," he asserted. "After mom died, and my father discarded me until I was needed, I went numb. I decided I didn't want to push my luck as anyone I've ever cared about has somehow hurt me… or I them. Even Misato-san was… in a way at least, using me for her own revenge." He sighed. "I don't know how much of this you even remember."

"Only a little," Asuka replied as she stood up. His eyes ever so quickly darted between her face and the hem of her shirt. It parted slightly at the bottom but still revealed nothing. Asuka ignored it as hormones. "You… me… even Wonder Girl had our share of bad stuff, though I don't remember what her problem was other than she was so robotic all the time."

"That discussion could take a day or two," Shinji replied, causing Asuka to smirk a little at his comment though she knew he wasn't trying to be funny about it.

"The point is… we got through it. We're here now… and I'm not going anywhere." She walked up to him placing her hands on his chest and laying against him. Her lips met his again and she felt the same warmth in them she felt during their lovemaking. As their tongues danced she suddenly felt pressure against her pubic mound, hitting her in just the right way.

She moaned in his mouth and looked down, seeing Shinji had become aroused again. His face turned red with embarrassment and Asuka just giggled with a light blush over her face as well.

"I guess I should have worn panties after all," she said and began to kiss him more desperately this time. Despite her overall weakness from their escapades last night and this morning, she was willing to push for round three. Shinji's libido it seemed was more than willing to comply. He did apparently have the presence of mind to shut the stove over before he all but attacked her.

Shinji spun her around holding her against the wall next to the counter as he continued to kiss her deeply. Asuka barely managed to get two of the three buttons undone before Shinji pulled the shirt from her shoulders and he latched onto her left breast. Her nipple hardened instantly and became super sensitive causing Asuka to moan appreciatively at the feelings tearing through her body for the third time in less than 12 hours.

She pulled his boxers down from his hips as she raised her right leg up. He impaled her without breaking his hold over her causing her to nearly cry out in delight feeling her body becoming one with his once again. As he thrust into her hard and broke his contact with her breast her right leg managed to get over his hip giving her the leverage she needed to keep forcing him inside of her.

"God I love this," Shinji managed between breaths. "I love you so much Asuka!"

The sound of those three little words sent her over the edge. She cried out in ecstasy as she was rocked with her third orgasm, but Shinji wasn't ready. Despite her poor abused vagina becoming so sensitive he kept hammering into her. Her body somehow clamped down on him again and she screamed as feelings felt like they bottomed out only to shoot skyward again. This happened no less than four times before Shinji finally released inside of her. Her poor abused body couldn't take too much more, as her leg dropped from his hip and she felt their mixed juices trail down her thigh. As they both came down, Asuka's legs gave out causing Shinji to hold her tightly to keep her from falling over.

"Maybe a bit too much," she whispered. She managed to get a leg under her and Shinji was able to help her back to her chair, though her thighs rubbing together set more electricity though her nethers as she felt the wetness slide against her sensitive inner thighs. A light moan escaped her as the feeling reverberated, and inwardly she hoped after having four orgasms back to back that a fifth wouldn't spontaneously happen. She closed her shirt upon sitting down but had to stifle another moan as the fabric rubbed over her almost painfully erect, and now quite sore left nipple.

"No such thing," Shinji whispered as he kissed her again. She felt her heart beat faster at the touch and knew if she didn't put a kibosh on this, they weren't getting anything accomplished today.

"Moderation might be best," Asuka whispered. Then her stomach growled and she laughed. Shinji chuckled with her.

"We definitely need to get you fed," he replied, and went back to the stove to cook.

Asuka slowly got her breath back. _"Mein Gott, three times just since last night! You'd think I turned into some kind of uber slut or something…"_ She chuckled lightly to herself. _"And yet, I can't help but feel we should have done this a while ago…"_

* * *

Much to Asuka's delight they ended up having sex a fourth time, this time when Shinji was trying to take a shower. Asuka decided he wasn't doing it alone. Finally however, they both decided they needed to take a break from all of the lovemaking, especially since Asuka nearly fell in the shower she was becoming so weak.

Sitting in the living room, Asuka was wearing one of her more casual outfits, a loose fitting shirt and sweat pants, but no shoes. She was curled up on the couch with Shinji who was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

Asuka took the time to explain what happened when she got back into town and Shinji listened to her words.

"He said I wasn't their target," she concluded. "But who where they after?"

Shinji was silent. "I don't think they would be able to invest in a new Dominus Barer. Besides I don't think they could recreate the Glyphs anyway."

"Why is that?" Asuka asked. She didn't like the answer.

"The Glyphs aren't just made from his power… they in reality _are_ his power."

Asuka shivered. "I'm bearing the essence of what Dracula is on my body?" She shuddered hugging herself as she felt Shinji's reassuring grip on her tighten. "I feel… almost dirty thinking about that."

"I know you must," Shinji replied. "It's terrible. But that still leaves us with one problem…"

"I know, we don't know who they are really after and why."

"Whoever they are, they must be somehow connected to you," he said.

"Why would you say that?" Asuka replied looking at him curiously. She saw worry in his eyes.

"It's just a feeling…" he trailed.

Asuka wondered at who it could be. There weren't very many people she was close to. She remembered Hikari was like a sister to her. And the thought became frighteningly real in her mind. Could they be going after her friend, knowing they could potentially use her to draw Asuka out? That train would have brought the cultists she killed within walking distance of Hikari's neighborhood…

" _I won't let anyone else be hurt over this. I have to take action… now."_

But a thought was scratching at her mind. Shinji… the way he spoke about this… did he know more than he let on? No… he couldn't… he'd never lie to her…

"… _right?"_

* * *

 _You told me to love you and I did,_

 _Tied my soul into a knot and got me to submit_

 _So when I got away, I only kept my scars_

 _The other me is gone,_

 _Now I don't know where I belong…_

* * *

"I can't let anyone else suffer because of me. If Hikari is really who they are after, I need to attack them first. Maybe if I push the right people… but what's this about a candidate for the Dark Lord? Could someone already be becoming Dracula? Am I too late?"

 **Next Chapter: The Goal**


	5. The Goal

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shinji asked her.

The two of them had been in the living room for a bit now. Asuka was in the process of locking her boots in place when he asked. Deep in her mind she wanted to yell at him.

" _Of course I'm not sure! I have power, but is it enough? I'm going to be taking the cult on directly and this could go very badly. I could die, or worse, get captured so they can go forward with their own plans, but I'm the only one who can do this."_

Instead she nodded. "It must be done," was all she replied. "The only way I'll be free of this is to destroy the cult. I have to kill Decius."

"You have to find him first," Shinji noted. "You said yourself that you remember he didn't actually live where the rituals were taking place."

"No," Asuka agreed. "But someone there must know where he is. I'll get the information out of them."

"I suppose I don't have to tell you to be careful," Shinji noted.

"No but you will anyway," Asuka countered as she strapped her gauntlets on. She stood up to find Shinji standing in front of her. Without ceremony he put his right arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. Asuka had no problem with that, feeling just how much he loved and worried about her in that moment. With so many memories lost to her, he and his surrogate mother were all she had in this world now. When they parted lips their faces were still inches from each other. Asuka didn't have to open her eyes to know Shinji's were still closed as well.

"Be careful," he whispered.

"As careful as I can be," Asuka replied just as silently.

He finally let her go at that and Asuka made her way to the door, resolute in her goals of destroying the cult. Silence was all that remained between them as she left. Nothing else needed to be said…

* * *

 **V: The Goal**

* * *

The skies opened up above as a monsoon seemed to fall around her. Though she was getting soaked, Asuka paid no mind to the horrid weather. She was closer to her goal now, and nothing, not even Mother Nature herself would stop her.

Ahead of her stood an old warehouse. It wasn't the building itself that she wanted, it was the basement beneath it. This was the largest building on Urahara Road, and also the least occupied. Despite being in the middle of the city, it was quiet and empty, unused, or so it seemed. Asuka knew better though. She could almost sense the evil beneath the place.

Entering quietly, she found the stairs going down. As she got closer, the familiar smells of a cultist lair wafted up to her nose… it smelled just like that place downtown…

* * *

" _Where's Decius?!" Asuka yelled at the cultist. His eyes were wide with fear as he glanced past Asuka to the bodies of his brothers. Some were still pouring blood out of gaping wounds carved with her scythe._

 _It was a basement of a downtown club in Tokyo-2 called the Last Mark. It was a popular hangout for unsavory types, most of which were well armed. It took Asuka less than a minute to reduce the population of the bar down from two dozen cultists and assorted individuals to three people; the last cultist, the bartender, and herself. Anyone who hadn't died by her hand, had long since fled._

" _Midtown!" the cultist managed. "19772 Uraha Road! The basement of the warehouse is one of our main haunts! He's there I swear it!"_

" _Oh I believe you," Asuka whispered darkly, "but you're still going to die…"_

* * *

Her eyes snapped opened, seeing with clarity the symbol of the cult carved into the old wooden door. Without ceremony she kicked in said door, and was immediately greeted by a mix of stronger odors ranging from sandalwood incense to freshly spilt blood. Her eyes quickly swept the room, and she counted at least 20 cultists as she entered. She wasted no time with what needed to be done.

Before the first two could even draw a weapon they had their throats sliced opened with the sickles Asuka had in her hands. Stepping forward her hands came together forming the sickles into an ornate scythe. With a low spin she slashed though the lower abdomen of the next closest cultist, spilling blood and entrails onto the floor to the horror of onlookers.

With the cultists finally getting their act together Asuka decided to up the ante. Releasing her scythe, it faded from view as one of her least used glyphs on her back lit up. She rushed forward at speed jumping over a pair of cultists to get at a specific target wearing higher ranked robes behind them. In midair her form seemed to shift as her normal outfit faded and was replaced with leather which hid little. Razor sharp claws extended from her hands as fur began to trail up her arms, across her face and down her body. As her tail came into being and her body structure completed its metamorphosis, she landed upon the front of the cultist and clawed his face nearly off of his skull with a wicked, left-handed slash. Kicking off she flipped hard and fast backwards sending her foot up in a graceful kick. Like a blade cutting air the cultist was eviscerated instantly by the attack. Before either he or his guts could begin falling. Asuka already twisted and pounced on her next target, clawing and biting like a jaguar before kicking off and lashing out at the next nearest cultist.

With blades drawn several tried to rush her only to find she wasn't even there anymore. Running on all fours she slipped past the targets trying to surround her to strike a lone cultist who wasn't fast enough to get into the main assault. He was quickly dispatched with another slashing kick before she turned her attention to the line of cultists behind her. They couldn't correct themselves in time as she had already begun to kill them one by one. A bolt of lightning barely missed her prompting her to change tactics again.

Ending the effects of the _Arma Felix_ Glyph, she switched back into her high speed assault stance she'd become famous for. She summoned a pair of swords in reverse grips and began to seemingly slide from target to target slashing and weaving as she went. Finally, after nearly two and a half minutes of constant melee, she stood near the altar where another innocent girl was put up for sacrifice.

The lead cultist was at her head with a sacrificial dagger to the girl's throat.

"That's far enough," the cultist warned, though Asuka could see he was afraid. Twenty -three cultists lay dead in the room, he would make the twenty-fourth if he didn't take some kind of action. But Asuka knew he really had no options. Even if he tried to cut the girl's throat, she was far too fast for him to stop her thanks to her mastery of the _Rapidus Fio_ Glyph.

She didn't respond, instead she moved quicker than the cultist could see, knocking his blade away and slamming him into the wall hard enough to daze him. He looked down noting he was being held off the ground with only her left hand. An ornate knife appeared in her right hand.

"Now," Asuka whispered dangerously. "I'm only going to ask this once, after that I'll start removing non-essential body parts until I get the information out of you that I seek. Where is Decius?"

His response was spitting in her face. With her eyes closed she wiped the spittle away with the back of her hand, then proceeded to use her blade to slice off his right ear prompting a cry of pain. Blood trailed from the wound away from her blade as she pulled back, the severed ear dropping to the ground with nary a sound. True to her word she didn't ask again, instead prepared to slice off the left ear next.

"Okay! I'll talk! Just stop!" But Asuka said nothing and sliced the other ear off causing him to scream louder.

"I swear I don't know! But there's a-a letter! There's a letter from someone important there! Waiting for him!"

Asuka dropped the man on the ground who proceeded to hold the gaping wounds on his head. Asuka walked to where the rolled paper waited, with a seal on it baring the upside-down cross with wings she was used to seeing from the cult.

Wasting no time, she unrolled the note, noting the seal was already broken. Decius had been here but he wasn't now, and the note told her what she needed to know.

 _Praetor Decius,_

 _The time will soon be upon us. Preparations have been made to begin the ritual… the Candidate will be ours shortly. All that remains is to bring the Glyph-barer to our headquarters on the island of Awashima. There in our mountain stronghold we will complete the ritual. When the Dark Lord is once again at our side, we will be able to reclaim the castle from its hidden confines… Castlevania will rise once again! Our victory is now close at hand Decius… Join us at the fortress with all due haste, and bring six of your sacrifices for the final ceremony, we will have need of them... And make sure to bring the Glyph-barer._

 _Your Lord and Master,_

 _Shaft_

As she read the message, the man whispered a few words to halt the bleeding of his head, then sneered at Asuka standing up.

" _Slogra!_ _Me ab inimicis meis vocavi te perdere_ _!_ " he suddenly yelled out gesturing to a specific place in the room. All at once, a massive column of hellfire erupted a mere 30' from Asuka's position in the direction of the gestures. When it finally calmed a few moments later, a bird-like and nearly skeletal humanoid armed with a massive spear stood at the ready. Its long beak seemed to drip blood.

The cultist laughed maniacally. "Now you face one of the Knights of Death, you cunt! You'll pay for what you have done he- " His bravado was suddenly cut off by a knife punching through his throat. Asuka noted as a new blade appeared in her hand that despite the death of the summoner, this 'Slogra' wasn't returning from whence he came.

"Guess I'll have to fight you after all," Asuka noted grimly. "Very well 'Knight of Death', let's see what you are made of."

It's response was a horrid shriek that sounded at once like it came from some deep abyss, and echoed as if emitted in a mountain range.

Asuka opened the battle with a barrage of blades to which Slogra easily blocked them with his spinning spear. The moment she became winded from her attack it slid forward with unnatural speed nearly skewering her in the process but she managed to dodge. Before she could recover she had to use all her strength to catch the pointed beak heading for her head and hold it at bay. Pulling the spear back he tried to run her though again but Asuka was able to get out of the way. In annoyance Slogra threw his head to the side, tossing Asuka across the room.

Upon hitting the wall and sliding down, she quickly got back to her feet seeing the bird-like monster leap at a shallow angle at her. Running to the right the demon missed but quickly slid into a rush after her.

"This thing is harder than I thought it would be," Asuka managed aloud and turned in time to almost get skewered again. Finally summoning up a shield she protected herself as the blade point slammed into her defenses again and again in rapid succession. She watched in dismay as the shield began to crack, with one last strike shattering her defenses at last. Asuka was able to shift left away from the point as it broke though, but was grabbed around her midsection by the beak and thrown hard into a column. Her small body shattered the column as it hit it and kept going until it stopped near the opposite wall.

Groaning, Asuka managed to get back up in time to dodge the next attempted impalement. Switching to her axes she tried to go offensive only to have Slogra quickly bounce away. Taking the opportunity, she jumped up close to the ceiling and let loose both axes. Both managed to catch Slogra directly but despite the damage and the blood, he landed on his feet and began to regenerate the damage.

"Oh I don't think so," she exclaimed and made her left axe disappear. Rushing forward she threw the axe and followed it up with a spray of fire. Slogra jumped back after getting hit with the axe but still managed to get seared by the flames. Asuka flipped forward combining the two glyphs. A massive axe, far bigger than one had the right to be, appeared as she swung it and its edge burst into flames. With a horrible shriek, Slogra was split in half with his wound cauterized. He wasn't coming back from that one.

"Short battle, but ouch," Asuka noted. "That hurt like all hell."

"Asuka!" Shinji called out as he entered the room with a gun drawn.

"Shinji!" she called back, getting his attention. "There's a survivor!"

Shinji quickly made his way to the altar to let the girl go. Asuka searched and found a sheet to wrap the poor girl in, returning her modesty to her. As Shinji held her trying to calm the hysterical cries about demons and monsters, Asuka retrieved the paper and reread it.

"I'd ask how you managed to find me, but not like I couldn't figure that out for myself" Asuka noted.

"You made it pretty easy actually," Shinji noted as he looked around at the bodies. "I see Decius is not amongst the dead."

"Shaft called him to Awashima Island," Asuka noted a she pocketed the note. "They will begin the ritual within the week."

"They can't do it without you," Shinji noted. "Just stay away from this, and we can let the authorities handle it."

"They can't!" Asuka noted emphatically. "I remember what happened the day I was taken by the cult! This is way beyond them, and you know it."

"Asuka, I…"

"I know, Shinji-kun. I know you don't want to see me getting hurt, but I have to do this. There is no other way now. I am the only one who has the power to end this once and for all."

"Not the only one," Shinji noted. Asuka thought for a moment and the answer suddenly became clear to her. "You should see if she will help you," he continued knowing Asuka just came to the conclusion Shinji wanted her to reach.

"Do I really want to drag Selina into this?" she asked herself aloud.

"She's already a part of it. Remember the battle in the village?"

"Ah yes," Asuka said with disdain. "Rastur…"

"She will help you if you ask her, I know she will."

Asuka sighed, knowing she had little choice in the matter now. Alone was not an option, she would be too vulnerable, and the island was bound to house horrors greater than what she so far faced.

"I'll go to her," she replied. Then another thought occurred to her. "There is another innocent caught up in all of this… the note mentioned that they found the candidate for the Dark Lord. He may already be at the island."

Shinji seemed to pause a moment longer than necessary, as if deliberating something. "Maybe, maybe not. We'll do what we can here to try to locate them before the cult does, if they haven't already found him. But, Asuka, it literally could be anyone. If he is at the island, you must rescue him."

"I will. Good luck on your end." Asuka gave him a brief hug before she ran out, knowing the authorities were likely looking for her by now.

* * *

Two days later, Asuka completed the ascent up Mount Tomuraushi. The spirits that assailed her the first time simply watched her as she passed though; she had already completed their trial. As she ascended, she wondered how her mentor and surrogate mother had been doing since she left. A slight chuckle escaped her as she realized it had only been a matter of days since she left this place and completed her training.

As she reached the opened path with the core of the mountain visible, she stopped walking with a feeling of dread suddenly overcoming her. She looked around, seeing one of the Salem Witches that assailed her before phase though the wall. The female spirit stared at her ominously, almost sadly.

"What are you staring at?" Asuka asked defensively.

 _ **"You do not even know the answer to that question,"**_ the spirit replied.

Asuka was about to protest when suddenly she was overwhelmed by another memory. Pain surged through her body as her mind fell into the past.

* * *

" _She's perfect,"_ An evil voice spake in her mind.

" _Give her the marks of the master!"_ commanded another.

" _Dominus… with this she will be the key…"_ a deep throated voice replied.

" _One final sacrifice,"_ came the voice of a woman, disjointed and impossible to place. Glowing eyes opened in the dark, red and full of malice.

" _You are not worthy of the power of Dracula!"_ the voice screamed.

* * *

Asuka broke from the vision roughly. The spirit was gone, leaving her feeling almost drained from the experience. Unable to reconcile the images, she put them to the back of her mind.

"I must have imagined it," Asuka whispered. "This ordeal with the cult is taking its toll on me. Soon it will be over," she assured herself.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain she saw Selina preparing wood for her fire. The scene roused her from the depressing feelings that lingered since her encounter in the caves. The training grounds were especially snow covered today and it was a bit cold, but Asuka couldn't feel the cold anymore; the magic of the glyphs maintained her temperature now, allowing her to feel comfortable in most environmental conditions.

"You know it would be so much easier to do that using magic," Asuka noted aloud with an amused tone in her voice.

Selina looked up startled then appeared happy. Asuka went to her and the two shared a brief embrace.

"It is good to see you again," Selina noted. "But I wasn't expecting to see you so soon after your training had been concluded."

"The time is almost upon us," Asuka replied at her query. "I attacked one of the major cult strongholds in the city. There was a message there for Decius from Shaft himself stating it was time."

"I see," Selina replied looking concerned. "Did they say where the ritual was taking place?"

"Awashima Island," Asuka replied. "The note seemed to indicate they may already have the Dark Lord's Candidate on the island."

"I can see why you came here," Selina noted with concern in her voice. "This was far sooner than either of us could have anticipated. I will accompany you to the lsland and help you finish this. Between the two of us, I'm certain we'll be able to deal with what awaits us there."

"That is my hope as well."

Selina's face took a more serious turn. "You realize though, if the Dark Lord's Candidate is already on the island, they would have already prepared him for his ascension to become the Dark Lord. He will be twisted and dark now, even if he appears normal on the outside."

"I understand," Asuka said sadly. "He must die then."

"I fear there is no other recourse, my student. We must also assume that they know you are coming and have prepared appropriately. They need you to finish their dark scenario."

Asuka sighed and turned towards the setting sun. The cold picked up enough for even her to feel it though the glyphs but she couldn't shiver, as if unable to react to it.

"Tactically, this is quite dangerous," Selina continued. "If they manage to capture you, they will have everything they need to complete their plans… but…"

"But," Asuka replied finishing the thought. "I am one of very few who can do this."

"We will leave tonight," Selina decided. "You should go inside, help yourself to food, and rest. We have a long night ahead of us."

"Thank you."

* * *

Asuka finished eating quickly, then took some time to read in the library in order to settle her mind for the short nap to come. The encounter in the cave lingered in her mind but she wasn't sure what to make of it all. She decided it was time to look into what it was that contacted her. It took almost an hour before she finally found a similar picture. What she read was not encouraging…

" _The spiritual entity known as the "Salem Witch" by many historians, is a spirit of a female practitioner of the Wiccan or other magical arts. While witchcraft is often associated with the devil, such entities are normally transformed into demonic creatures or apparitions. Salem Witches however avoid this fate as they practiced nature based Wiccan rites which are actually light based, rather than dark._

" _According to legend, these spirits guard tombs or other holy sites in death, and can often appear to a soul who has suffered a great betrayal in their lifetime…"_

Asuka wondered at that. Had she been betrayed? From what little she remembered of her time at NERV, betrayal was the name of the game. But how did that relate to the visions she received when she was approached by one such spirit?

The sound of a clearing throat pulled her from her pondering.

"I figured you'd be asleep by now," Selina noted.

"I wish," Asuka replied. "I'm still too wired." She closed the book she was reading. Selina seemed to note which one she put down. "Mama… Why do you think some people are so dead set on reviving Count Dracula?"

Selina seemed to ponder that a moment as she walked towards the window. "I suppose some see hope in worshiping him," she replied at length. "Others might believe he will bring them eternal life or salvation."

"Shinji said it was because God abandoned the world," Asuka replied. "And people are too weak individually to seek their own salvation."

"I never pegged Shinji to see religion as a weakness," Selina replied. "He's seen far too much for such odd views. Both of you have."

"Tis true," Asuka replied. "I have few memories of that time, as you know, but the memories I do have would certainly convince me that there was more to religion than just finding something to believe in."

Selina sat down near the window. "Religion does give us power, but it in turn has the power to dominate us completely if we are careless," Selina noted. "For some, that domination would be salvation in their eyes. The weakest I imagine want to be controlled on some level, while the stronger ones have a tendency to see religion not as a crutch or security blanket but rather a support that empowers them and grants them strength they wouldn't have alone."

"So for we who have abandoned God… what does that say about us?"

Selina looked to Asuka momentarily before returning her gaze towards the window.

"What indeed?" She sighed. "Try to rest."

Asuka nodded before finally making her way to her bed. She'd rest only a short while….

* * *

Hours later, Selina and Asuka arrived on the shore of Awashima island. Asuka realized just how much Selina wasn't kidding about the long night ahead of them. The waves lapped against the rocky coast as they disembarked their small vessel, a boat stolen from the docks on the mainland. Mere moments after they touched the dirt, they felt the presence of the supernatural… and it was getting closer.

"They couldn't have started already, could they?" Asuka noted as she summoned a pair of swords.

Flames spiraled around Selina as she prepared herself for combat. "No, but wherever the cult is, the supernatural is sure to follow."

Armored warriors wielding pikes leapt from the nearby brush to meet the intruders head on. Asuka however was ready for their assault and launched forwards at blinding speed. Selina supported her from the rear with fire as they quickly made their way up the hilly terrain. Their enemies seemed to be legion and yet Asuka would not slow down. She knew time was against them now and this travesty had to end, no matter what stood between her and the goal. Killing these minions of darkness was not the goal but rather a distraction from that goal, and so Asuka concentrated on getting further inland, only destroying the enemies that mattered and doing so on the fly. Selina was able to keep up though it seemed only barely so, forcing Asuka to take out more targets than she wanted to, and spend more energy that she though she required.

Minutes later, they managed to make it to a dirt road though the forest. Only a few of the pikemen followed them to the road, where they quickly met their end in flames by Selina. Asuka took that moment to look down the road in both directions. Looking north, she saw the silhouette of a castle.

"It can't be," Asuka whispered believing she was looking at something that shouldn't be there.

"It isn't," Selina replied. "This island was owned by an eccentric businessman before Second Impact. He had a European style castle built here, and it was quite the attraction until the day the seas rose and cut off transportation to the island."

"He make any money off of it?" Asuka asked.

"Some," she replied. "It was enough of a curiosity that it garnered at least some international fame, but not much as few people alive today even know about it."

"Perfect place for the cult to use as the ritual grounds. It looks creepy enough."

Selina smirked. "Amazing how no matter how function a place is, once the cult gets there hands on it, the perception changes into something evil."

"Why?" Asuka asked as she started down the road with her.

"Because the Cult's magic permeates everything they settle upon and expose their energies to. It's why every hideout that regularly houses them seems so dark and foreboding. It's how their sacrificial chambers are created really. They don't carve the columns or redecorate the walls. It simply happens."

"So the Cultists can literally warp reality itself with there mere presence," Asuka noted with some level of horror. "We can't let this go any further."

"I agree," she replied. "They have no sense of style at all."

Asuka smirked at the quip, and both women picked up the pace, eventually coming across a cliff. The castle was poised on top of a narrow plateau, and the sheer drop in this darkness fell out of sight.

"Drawbridge is up," Asuka noted. "Do we fly in?"

"Not from above," Selina noted. "We'd never make it inside, too many archers and spell casters. There is an entrance to the catacombs below us. We can glide across, slide down to the ledge below, and get in that way."

"How do you know about this?"

"I took one of the tours when this place was still opened. I remembered the catacombs specifically, they were scary for me at that age."

Asuka nodded, though a small nagging part wondered at just how old she was now. She seemed on the young side, but she must be at least Misato's age if she was on a tour when this place was still an attraction. Shrugging it off for now, she and Selina glided across using wings (or magic in Selina's case) and then slid down the wall until they reached the ledge.

Asuka approached the entrance, noting the utter creepiness of this place.

"No turning back now," Selina noted.

"I'm okay with that," Asuka replied immediately. "What's the plan?"

"We find the candidate and kill it, then we kill everything evil in this place. You'll need to unleash Dominus on the candidate to ensure no one else can become the Dark Lord."

Asuka frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't help thinking that the Candidate is innocent in all this."

Selina frowned. "Perhaps, but better one innocent die than millions suffer from our inaction."

Asuka sighed. " I know. I don't have to like it…"

Without another word, Asuka entered the catacombs…

* * *

 _We were never alive,_

 _And we won't be born again_

 _I will never survive_

 _With dead memories in my heart…_

* * *

"It's all come down to this. The cult cannot be allowed to succeed. I must kill every last one of them, and end Decius himself. This castle is massive. I can't fail now, I'm so close… but what is my mind trying to tell me?"

 **Next Chapter:** Grasp the Thread


	6. Grasp the Thread, Part I

Shinji stood by the window of his apartment, gazing out into the stormy streets. He was alone again… but he could still smell Asuka. Her scent permeated the apartment in every way. Asuka had just left to go find Selina and he could still feel the warmth of her lips on his.

" _Be careful,"_ he had told her. But part of him knew that careful wasn't her style, and that in reality, careful is the last thing she can afford to be at this juncture.

He glanced towards the table in the nearby kitchen, the glasses they drank from were still there. Calmly, he walked towards them, though his heart was beating hard. He remembered their gasps, pants, moans, cries…. Making love to her was the greatest accomplishment in his life… at least that is what he decided. He could almost still smell the aroma of sex in the room. Love was a powerful thing; even so long after the fact, he could still feel the energy, smell the event… if he closed his eyes he could still feel it and even hear it.

She had become his everything… and he knew that the next week was going to be very telling indeed. It would take her a couple days to get to Selina, then a few more to reach Awashima Island, and he knew a lot was going to happen in that time.

A pounding resonated from his door. He didn't even jump at the first pound. It came again, even louder this time. He could hear the door cracking, the hinges weakening, the lock trying desperately to hold its place.

Calmly he entered the living room, his hands folded in front of him. His cobalt eyes didn't even twitch as the door finally gave up the fight and splintered along the hinges. Four cultists entered the room slowly, their dark hoods hiding their faces. The scent of blood and sandalwood reached Shinji… at least one was a pleasing smell.

A bald cultist baring an evil mark upon his forehead came into view. His face held amusement, and his eyes flickered with power. But his dress, his demeanor, everything spoke of an authority that could only be surpassed by a being like Dracula or perhaps Shaft. There was no question Shinji's mind who this person was.

"Lord Decius I presume," he said calmly. "I've been expecting you."

"The sacrifice made quite a mess of my hall," he replied in a slight Romanian accent, glancing around at the room. "Even managed to kill one of my best Summoners. I expected to see her here." He glanced around.

"I'm afraid you missed her. She's already left for her next target. But don't worry, she'll be coming for you soon enough."

"Good," the man replied. "I won't have to find her myself. As for you Ikari, I think you know what happens next."

Shinji glanced to the cultists. They were brandishing ropes and daggers, but he knew they weren't going to kill him. He was to serve a different purpose.

"Yes, I do… I'm going for a ride."

* * *

 **VI: Grasp the Thread, Part I**

* * *

The catacombs were as dank and dark as Asuka could have expected. A long trough of water flowed from the castle to the outside along the route she and Selina now walked. Occasionally a cry of pain could be heard in the distance, sounding distorted after having echoed such a long distance.

"Its still not as scary as downtown Tokyo-2," Asuka noted without humor. Her traveling companion expressed no mirth at her comment, instead staying close to her. "How deep does this go, exactly?"

"We should be relatively close to a way up into the basement of the castle," Selina replied. "Though the direct route might be a bad idea. The cult is likely to try to cover the main entrances, so we should move towards the west side of the outer wall. They wouldn't expect that since its so far from any of the main entrances."

"Sounds reasonable," Asuka noted. She noted the forward path continued but several other side paths were now appearing on both sides of the channel.

"Left here."

Asuka turned as instructed, only to see that the stone floor stopped on the right side but continued a bit on the left. The area was open, like a large hallway of stone but the entire section was flooded out. Asuka noted that platforms in the stone existed along the left hand side of the passageway, the stones that once made a staircase leading to it had fallen apart, and sections that were once connected by wooden walkways had long since rotted.

"We should be able to make those jumps," Asuka stated confidently, observing their spacing.

"Indeed," Selina replied. "With that leap stone around your neck, you'll have an easier time with it. I'll have to use a glide spell, but I'll manage."

Asuka kicked off the wall and jumped up to the platform above. Selina managed the same feat though it was obvious she was not as good at it as Asuka herself was.

"You sure you can go on?" Asuka asked with concern.

"Don't worry about me," Selina replied immediately. "I can adapt."

Satisfied she was okay to continue Asuka moved confidently forward. As she approached the first gap she jumped it easily. Watching Selina do the same with a short glide to cover the distance she lacked in pure range. Asuka continued on reaching the next and much more substantial gap. She jumped as before but it was obvious her range was insufficient t make it across. As in the first cave she ever visitied, she activated the effects of her leap stone causing a circle of glyphs to appear in spectral energy below her and leaped again in midair. This double-jump was sufficient to cover the distance. Selina made the gap by getting as much height as she could then gliding across using her magic.

As Asuka continued down the path she noted dark shapes ahead on the ceiling closer to the middle of the room. Before she could ask what they were she saw red eyes appear on the lower side of the shapes then watched as they began to drop from the ceiling. Opening shadowy wings, these massive bats suddenly dived towards the pair at speed.

Asuka summoned a sword as she continued to run forward, slashing as she went. Her hits were so strong that the bats seemed to simply explode into a burst of red mist as they were being struck. Despite their number, Asuka was more than capable of fending them all off with the sheer speed of her attacks.

"Supernatural manifestations," Selina noted aloud. "Vampire bats such as these were common in dark castles and manors, according to the legends."

"Meaning this entire castle has become twisted by the cult's presence," Asuka replied.

"If that influnace has run this deep, killing off the cult might be detrimental to this place," Selina noted.

"Bill me."

After traversing a few more gaps and killing off a few more bats, the girls finally reached the end of the tunnel. To the right, a waterfall of murky water was visible. To the left a doorway with a staircase leading up. The stair was relatively narrow.

"This must be there service entrance," Asuka noted.

"Careful now, child," Selina replied. "No telling what is up there."

Asuka noted that internally and ran up the stairs noting the stairs were a wide spiral leading upwards in a circular tower. Above there didn't seem to be any enemies, so she confidently strode forward, running up the stairs. Selina was able to keep up if only barely. Suddenly a sound like a blade cutting the air got Asuka's attention and she turned to see where it was coming from.

With a resounding crack, some hard object struck her in the back of head and threw her from the stairs. Recovering quickly she activated the Leap Stone and managed to land her mid-air jump onto the staircase again with momentarily awkward footing. She then looked towards the source of the attack. There stood a skeleton wearing little in the way of armor with its hands raised high. A pair of massive boomerangs flew from the sides of Asuka's vision back to the waiting monster's hands as the skeleton ducked down again, with arms swung back, lining up its next throw.

Asuka ran from the stairs and lept towards the skeleton as it threw but used the Leap Stone to bounce back towards the stairs above, easily avoiding the attack. She managed to get a handhold on the stairs and swung herself up, then immediately backflipped as an arrow flew at her. The deadly projectile barely missed her passing under the small of her back as she flipped.

" _It's a shooting gallery",_ she thought to her self as she switched to her knives and started chucking them in the direction the arrow came from. The skeletal archer easily dodged the projectiles and fired back one of his own. Asuka ducked it and continued running towards the monster, following the stairs to get to it.

Selina below ran up the stairs dodging boomerangs headed for her and ending the annoying bag of bones with a well placed burst of fire. Turning around she caught the boomerangs that were on their way back, and with a spin threw them upwards managed to catch a skeletal pikeman that was getting ready to throw its spear at Asuka. As Selenia's skill with such weapons was quite limited, they shattered against the wall near where the monster once stood.

Asuka kept running, flipping expertly over the arrows pointed at her and finally brought down a massive sword on her target from her combined sword runes. She quickly switched to sword and shield and summoned her shield above while ducking to avoid a spear headed for her head from above. Repeatedly, the weapon struck trying to break though her defenses before Asuka rolled back against the wall and out of reach.

"And this was the easy way?" Asuka questioned aloud.

"Should have been," Selina replied. She then jumped across the open center of the tower and flew up long enough to get above the pikeman. As it spun its spear to try to hit her, she lanced the monster with a bolt of lightning though its center mass causing it to blow apart. Trying to glide forward she misjudged the distance and suddenly lost her battle with gravity.

Asuka instantly leaped out to catch her and used her stone to leap back onto the stairs.

"That was close," Selina noted.

"That was stupid," Asuka replied in mild teasing. "Please be more careful next time. I've lost one mother in my life, I'd rather not lose another one."

Selina nodded after she was put down. "Understood. Let's go, it only gets harder from here."

"Joy," Asuka replied.

* * *

It took another precious 10 minutes to get to the outer wall of the castle. Inside the walls the long corridors were punctuated with flashes of lightning from outside. A storm was hitting the island now but though the open side of the wall that looked into the courtyard they could see the central tower, and their goal. The wall lead straight to a bridge over the main courtyard which lead to the top floors of the central spire.

"Getting closer now," Selina noted then suddenly broke to a halt. "Look out!"

Asuka ducked at that moment in a slide barely missing being decapitated by a boomerang axe.

"Not this again!" Asuka yelled in anger as she noted the hulking armored figures with massive shields summoning more throwing axes to their waiting right hands. She dashed forward in a blaze of speed trying to strike the first only to get slammed with a massive shield. As she spun in mid air backwards, she twisted to dodge the follow up axe throw before kicking off the wall and switching to twin sickles. Upon landing she made a quick dash forward hooking the shield from the side and ripping it away before going in for the kill. Dodging the quickly decending axe, she hooked the armor and ripped up, shattering the body of the Axe Lord before combining her glyphs into a massive scythe and tearing upwards to rend the second target. Realizing there were more behind it she swung her weapon back and rushed the next one in line.

Selina ran forward throwing balls of flamesfrom her hands in an effort to get the Axe Lords on the defensive. This opened them up for Asuka who mercilessly cut them down with wide swipes of her scythe in their rear sides. More tried to approach, only to be dispatched with as much ease. Five minutes of constant melee and finally, the path seemed clear.

"Now to-" but the words caught in her throat as she watched a massive armored figure enter the chamber. The armor over its left shoulder was exceptionally thick, and the sword it was wielding was massive for its own size, and the thing was over nine feet tall as it was.

"Sword Lord," Selina noted.

"Axe Lord, Sword Lord," Asuka complained. "Why couldn't it be a Pillow Lord."

In response, the massive armored figure stepped forward and slashed down. Asuka jumped back as the blade was able to reach her and in doing so just barely managed to dodge. She rushed forward, hoping to catch it off guard now that it overextended only to get slammed with the shoulder armor of the creature and thrown back into cutting range. Asuka got to her feet and leapt over the slashing motion of the Sword Lord.

Upon landing she tried again to get close but was nailed with the blade. Somehow it didn't cut deeply but the force threw her to the wall. She slid down barely missing being decapitated by the blade. She felt her blood running but it only pissed her off more. Rolling away, she managed to avoid another attempt to cleave her, then quickly got to her feet and ran forward. This time she jumped over the armor and onto the thing's back. It dropped its sword and started slamming itself into the rock walls of the passage, but Asuka held on, switching to her sword glyphs but not summoning them.

As the beast swung around again, Selina nailed it with an icy spear launched from her hand. The momentary stun was enough for Asuka to finally act. She got up on its shoulders summoning a massive sword of her own and thrust down though the gap in the neck armor and into the main body. With a roaring noise the armor blew apart throwing Asuka into the door behind her. She watched the armor disintegrate and breathed a sigh of relief, checking the wound.

Selina ran up to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'll manage," Asuka noted. "It's not as bad as it looks." With Selina's help she managed to get back on her feet.

"That was stupid," Selina noted with mild teasing, mocking her earlier scolding.

Asuka smirked in response. "If it's stupid and it works, it isn't really stupid."

"So next time, I just need to find a way to stick the landing? Is that it?"

Asuka chuckled, and turned towards the door.

It suddenly opened by itself. Asuka stood ready and watched as a cultist walked though the opening. This one wore black robes edged with electric patterns in blue, and was completely bald. Not simply his hair had been shaved, but his eyebrows were missing as well. Marks were visible tattooed into the skin of his face. His robes were sleeveless and more cult tattoos lined his arms, leaving little in the way of bare skin. Sparks seemed to jump in his blue eyes.

"Out of the way," Asuka warned and stepped forward. The cultist still had has hands at his side but turned his palms towards Asuka and curled his fingers slightly. The next thing she knew, she was flying backwards at a high rate of speed. She stopped feeling electric current dissipating in her body causing her to shudder and jolt a bit before she managed to sit up and realize she had been thrown a good 20 feet by the shock.

"Trespasser," the cultist said in a low voice. "You don't belong here. I, Tharanis, will rectify that problem."

"Tharanis huh," Asuka stated as she got back to her feet. "I've killed so many of your kind already. What makes you think you're going to stop me?"

"You've never faced anything like me before, sacrifice."

Asuka's eyes narrowed. "So you know I'm more than just a trespasser then."

"I wasn't talking to you," Theranis stated and thrusted a hand towards Selina. At once a bolt of lightning lanced into her, causing her to scream as she was thrown back against the column. It was the only thing that stopped her from being thrown into the courtyard.

Asuka's response was instantaneous. She called her twin swords and rushed forward using _Rapidus Flo_ , but in that instant she realized she wasn't fast enough as Theranis made his move as well. Within a streak of lightning he passed by her, time seeming to slow down as she realized what was happening and barely had time to notice he had a warhammer in his hands. Asuka tried to correct herself by spinning to face the cultist but didn't get anywhere before she felt the impact. She hit the door hard, feeling the surge of pain in her back from the impact point, as well as the electric burn that was spreading from it.

Behind her, Selina stood up, feeling her arms numb from the shock of the attack she summoned up a shield of ice before her to block the next attack but it did little good. Going on offense she launched bolt after bolt of seering cold at Tharanis, but the cultist was able to shatter each spear of ice with a shock bolt of his own.

Asuka rolled onto her back, feeling the searing pain start to subside and concentrated on healing her wounds with her _Refectio_ glyph, and watched helplessly as Selina was biting off far more than she could chew. She manged a nasty hit against the cultist which shredded part of his outfit and left him with bleeding wounds but that was where her luck ended.

"Enough!" Tharanis roared and relased a torrent of electricity that seemed to grab Selina. With a whipping motion, Tharnis threw her out of the outer window rather than throw her into the courtyard.

"No!" Asuka yelled and watched helplessly as Selina, the girl she called her surrogate mother was thrown into the darkness. Below she knew were the jagged rocks of the shore and likely Selina's death. Asuka immediately saw red, and even in her weakened state rose to her feet.

Tharanis turned towards Asuka as she rushed forward, brandishing her preferred weapons of dual sickles. Like a rabid animal she lashed and struck and slashed with all her strength but each attack was stopped by a skillful burst of electrical energy from Tharanis which traveled up Asuka's arms. In time the feeling of the electricity started to be bothersome, like a thousand insects crawling up her arms. As her strength began to wane again, her adrenaline spent, Tharanis slammed her with his warhammer sending her into the same wall she was sent earlier. The pain spread quickly, and Asuka's red sight went away. Now in utter agony, she cried out realizing she was beaten.

"Now young sacrifice," Tharanis began as he approached closer. "It's time to take you to the keep where you can perform your part in the resurrection of our lord.

Asuka's mind reeled, she tried to push the shock from her body but it was hard to remove. She heard his footsteps draw closer. In mere moments, he would shock her hard and put her out. When she awakens she know she will be well and truly fucked.

"Lights out, child," Tharanis said, as he prepared to release his power into her.

* * *

 **To be concluded…**

* * *

 _Dead visions in your name,_

 _Dead fingers in my veins,_

 _Dead Memories in my heart_

* * *

"If I let him take me now, I'll never be able to win… I'll fail everyone I love… Get up Asuka... GET UP!"

 **Next Chapter:** The Conclusion of Tabula Rasa


	7. Grasp the Thread, Part II

Tharanis turned towards Asuka as she rushed forward, brandishing her preferred weapons of dual sickles. Like a rabid animal she lashed and struck and slashed with all her strength but each attack was stopped by a skillful burst of electrical energy from Tharanis which traveled up Asuka's arms. In time the feeling of the electricity started to be bothersome, like a thousand insects crawling up her arms. As her strength began to wane again, her adrenaline spent, Tharanis slammed her with his warhammer sending her into the same wall she was sent earlier. The pain spread quickly, and Asuka's red sight went away. Now in utter agony, she cried out realizing she was beaten.

"Now young sacrifice," Tharanis began as he approached closer. "It's time to take you to the keep where you can perform your part in the resurrection of our lord.

Asuka's mind reeled, she tried to push the shock from her body but it was hard to remove. She heard his footsteps draw closer. In mere moments, he would shock her hard and put her out. She knows that when she awakens, she will be well and truly fucked.

"Lights out, child," Tharanis said, as he prepared to release his power into her.

* * *

 **VII: Grasp the Thread, Part II**

* * *

Tharanis released a massive burst of electirical energy, but watched as it slammed into the shield created by Asuka. She was using the combined glyph to hold the power at bay, but it was causing her pain anyway to block the attack.

"You're only delaying the inevitable," Tharanis boasted. "Why not just relax and allow yourself to serve your role in the resurrection of our lord?"

"He's not my lord," Asuka grunted as he eyes closed. Her back glyph shifted again and this time, when her eyes opened, they were red and looked like those of a wolf.

"What?" Tharanis managed as suddenly he was thrust back by the shield. As he recovered from being thrown back nearly a dozen feet, he watched Asuka stand up and begin to growl like an animal. "Impossible! Where did this power come from?!"

"My birth mother taught me the value of persevering when all was against you. Even though I barely remember anything about her, I know she was the one who taught me how to survive… at least before she went insane." Asuka breathed hard and as she let the breath go, her shoulders dropped. At that moment, a minor shockwave, like a stiff and sudden breeze radiated around her throwing dust and light debris around her. It made Tharanis back up further.

"But my second mother taught me how to turn weakness into a strength," Asuka continued. "How to become the cornered animal, ready to fight fiercely for its very survival. But it's not my own survival for which I fight now… it's also the survival of my friends, and all the innocents of the world. Dracula's resurrection would set all that on fire. I cannot allow that."

Asuka stepped forward as Tharanis threw another bolt of electricity. The attack hit Asuka dead on but didn't throw her back, she groaned but kept pushing forward, suddenly seeming to draw strength from her own pain.

"And so now I draw upon that one glyph I always hoped I wouldn't need," Asuka concluded. Her lip curled into a snear as the brief image of a wolf appeared superimposed over her for a brief moment. " _Arma Custos!"_

Tharanis threw another bolt of lightning towards Asuka, but this time she dodged the attack and rushed forward as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't seem to be holding a weapon this time which worried the Cultist all the more.

"Back off!" he yelled throwing a torrent of electricity forward. Asuka pushed forward, weathering the torrent and roaring like a beast as she did. He threw both of his hands up to intensify the effect and watched as Asuka pulled her right arm back. Suddenly the arm seemed to grow, tearing itself opened into a massive wolf's head as she did so. The effect almost sickened the cultist. He managed to start screaming even before the head grabbed onto his arm and tore it from its socket. Asuka's other arm likewise transformed and tore into his opposite shoulder. With a scream Asuka pulled in two directions tearing the cultist's body apart.

She deactivated all three of the Custos glyphs and collapsed onto her back almost instantly. Her arms having returned to normal. She laid there for a moment, letting it finally hit her that for the second time in her life, she lost her mother. She dragged herself over to the window where Selina was thrown and looked out into the darkness. Only the sharp rocks and churning waves below greeted her eyes.

"Why," Asuka whispered as she cried. "Why did she have to die?"

" _Momma! I did it! I'm gonna be a pilot!"_

 _The sound of a child's voice tore her from her sadness. She looked down the hall, seeing a little girl in red hair and a red dress running towards her. Asuka barely registered that the scenery had started to change into a hospital._

" _No…" Asuka whispered as she watched the girl run to a specific door. "No don't open that door!" Asuka managed to get to her feet, but it was too late… The little girl opened the door and stood in shock at what she saw beyond. Asuka already knew what she would see but she stared though the opened door anyway._

 _Kyoko, Asuka's mother was hanging in the middle of the room. Her face was purple and her eyes bulging as she didn't break her neck cleanly when she dropped but rather suffocated to death._

" _Tragedy is perfect," came a somewhat familiar voice. She had heard it in the cave when the Salem Witch confronted her. "It will make her the perfect glyph barer."_

 _Asuka turned but she couldn't see where the voices where coming from. It had become dark around her, but the smells of blood and incense were all too familiar._

" _How many times must we complete this ritual?" another voice, this one male and with a slightly Eastern European accent._

" _As many as it takes, until we have what we all want… We'll use her for the next stage."_

" _It has been decided," came another even more powerful sounding voice. "She is perfect. Begin the inscription. She shall bare the marks of the master."_

" _Dominus dicit sacrificium…"_

All at once, the castle came back to full view; all of the apparitions were gone, replaced by the gothic scenery, the ruined hallway, and a raging thunderstorm outside.

"What is it?!" Asuka screamed. "What is my mind trying to tell me?!" Tears rolled down her face again as she struggled with what she knew. Nothing made sense to her anymore. All she knew now was what she had to do. But will it be enough?

Closing her eyes tight, she called upon _Refecto_ again to heal her wounds somewhat. She wasn't sure how much more she could use the glyph before her body was just too damaged to heal, but she hoped she had enough… enough at least to claim vengeance and complete her mission. Her death might be required, but she didn't focus on that for now.

"Momma… I will avenge you," she whispered as she summoned her twin blades and rushed though the door towards the final path.

* * *

Bursting though the doors she found herself on the outside portion of the outer wall. A small army of Cultists had been gathering here, likely since word got out that the castle had been breached. Zombies were summoned, skeletons lined up, and cultists with a variety of deadly weaponry stood at the ready.

"I don't have time for this," Asuka growled though her teeth. Activating _Rapidus Fio_ along with her best sword glyphs, _Melio Secare_ , she launched herself forward, moving quickly from the platform to the bridge leading to the pinnacle. The army rushed forward to meet her and the massacre quickly began. Asuka lashed out at everything that moved, shambled, rattled, or crawled. She sliced though zombies and men in quick succession, smashing skeletons with swift strikes, and made a mockery of the army before her. Blood began to pour from the bridge as men and monsters met their fates at the hands of the pissed off redhead. Leaping into the air, she switched both arms to _Melio Macir_ , her hammer glyph, and slammed down upon the bridge with a massive double handed warhammer. The force of the shockwave released threw men from their feet and even the larger skeletal abominations were unable to keep their footing.

Switching into _Melio Falcis_ , her favorites again, she began reaping the bodies of the wicked with her massive scythe. It was then that she realized just how surrounded she was becoming. With a wide spin she threw many of the targets around her aside and took stock of just how much further she had to go.

"Not stopping now, better call for some reinforcements," Asuka decided. " _Fidelis Alate!"_

Suddenly, she wasn't alone. Winged skeletons armed with spears and shields began to drop from above striking cultists and abominations with equal fervor. With her enemies distracted she quickly advanced to the end of the bridge.

One last small tower platform greeted her and she exited this to reach a staircase that lead up to the top section of the pinnacle.

"At last," she whispered, and then ran up the stairs. The storm broke to her right and she idly noticed the full moon glaring through like some ominous beacon. To her left the rest of the castle spread out in her view, and even here the screams of the damned could be heard. Ahead she saw a set of double doors with gargoyle knockers. Kicked them opened and entered the final chamber.

The room was massive; easily the size of a lecture hall. The stone here was seemingly darker than in other parts of the castle. Four massive columuns of stone held up the ceiling arches which revealed only the cone shaped roof above. A huge chandeliner hung from the center of the room, lit by what seemed like a thousand candles. Braziers stood at the right side where the carpet took a T-Shape leading to a staircase, that in turn lead to the throne platform. The throne was exquisite, adorned with brass arms, soft red cushions, a large sweeping back, and a pair of demonic wings stretching across the back wall behind it to give the impression it was made for the king of hell. The path leading to the throne was adorned with long stemmed candelabras of great value, ending in 3 candles each. Though there were plenty of light sources in the room, the place seemed dark just the same, as if the evil palor that had come over this place was stealing away the light itself.

The carpet continued forward to a far off platform near the window. Only a few steps raised it from the floor and a large window was behind it. Upon the platform were two large braziers, and behind those stood the cultist she assumed was Decius himself. Behind him, standing on an angle was a black lacquered coffin adorned with the cult's symbol, the demon winged inverted cross.

"Welcome Asuka," Decius spake in his accented tongue. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."

"You…" Asuka growled. "You stole my life from me. I want it back!"

"I'm afraid it's far too late for that. The final ceremony has already begun. All we need to do now is sacrifice you, who bares the mark of the master, and the candidate within this coffin will become Dracula himself."

"You think you can just kill me?!" Asuka roared in protest. "I've come too far and lost too much to give up now. I will kill you Decius."

"You are welcome to try." Decius began to float in the air as he said this. "You may possess glyphs, but words are my power." A ring of books appeared around him. With a motion the books turned to flames and one by one launched themselves at her. Asuka dodged the attacks looking for an opening, and he suddenly flew to the right summoning another book. This one seemed to turn blue and fall from his hand. She watched as it fell towards the ground and wisely decided not to be on the ground when it landed.

Using her leap stone she stayed in the air as the ground froze over for a few seconds. She used her forward momentum to try to get to him only to be rebuked by a powerful shield. A field of energy surrounded him as a large opened book appeared below him and then above him. With a sadistic laugh he flew forward, using his shielded body as a projectile. Asuka barely managed to dodge both of his passes as she summoned a glyph she seldom used; _Melio Arcus._

Decius had to suddenly keep moving as his position was literally rained upon with a stream of arrows summoned from two spectral bows at Asuka's sides.

"You're not the only one who can play the range game, Decius!" Asuka taunted.

"And you are not the only master of close quarters combat," Decius retorted as he blinked out. Asuka was suddenly cut in a fly by attack in her back. She gasped and stepped forward into another slash, then another, each time coming from another angle. Just when she thought she had the direction, the last hit threw her to the wall. Now bleeding, she growled and got back up.

"Now I have you!" Decius yelled as he blinked out again.

Asuka closed her eyes, concentrated on the energy around her and suddenly turned, grabbing Decius's hand as he attempt to strike her again and placed two fingers on his heart.

Decius froze for a second from the shock of having Asuka counter his action so easily and that was all she needed to strike the killing blow.

" _Melio Hasta_ ," Asuka whispered and a blade of metal shot though him, cleaving his heart nearly in two. Decius looked down seeing that the blade extended from the tips of her fingers.

"Probably the most basic of attack glyphs I have, the first I learned how to use," Asuka explained. "Seems fitting that someone so vile should be destroyed by my weakest attack." Asuka pulled her fingers back, allowing Decius's body to fall to the ground. Blood pooled around him.

Decius pushed himself up a little. "My mistress will fulfill my task," he warned.

"Mistress?" Asuka questioned.

"Did… you think I was… the one to lead this rabble?"

Asuka watched as he breathed his last and fell limply on the ground.

"He wasn't the leader?" she whispered. "Then…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I have to finish this." She knew she had to before the real leader came to finish the job. Decius was tough enough to fight on his own. He didn't want to know who his Mistress was. She took a step and instantly felt the pain rip though her back. Blood poured from the wound inflicted there a short time ago by the dead cultist.

"Fuck," she whispered. "Decius must have hit a vessel." She got her breath back and kept going forward. The rest of the cult would also likely be there soon, and if she didn't kill the candidate by the time they got to her, this would have all been for nothing.

Summoning her sickles again she slammed them into the rim of the lid and ripped the lid off the coffin. She stepped back instantly as she recognized the person within.

"No," she whispered. "It… it can't be…"

Inside the coffin was Shinji, sleeping seemingly peacefully despite his predicament. He was tied into the coffin but looked the same as when she left him days ago.

"No! Damn it no! Baka! Why?! Why does it have to be you?!" Tears streamed from her eyes as she saw the sleeping figure. "The last person I love that's still alive in the world, and I have to kill him!" She dropped to her knees sobbing as she felt the blood continue to slowly drip from the wound on her back.

"I'm cursed," Asuka decided. "I'm not allowed to be happy… I finally have what I want in this world and now I have to destroy it because if I don't, the world ends! This is beyond unfair!"

Crying softly, she pulled herself back to her feet. "But I have no choice. I must do this…" She switched her glyphs to the ones she was told never to use; _Dominus Hated_ , _Dominus Anger_ , and upon her back _Dominus Agony_. "It has to end here…"

As she closed her eyes and prepared to cast the Glyph Union she heard his voice.

"Asuka! Stop!"

And stop she did. Dropping her hair and releasing her concentration.

"Shinji!"

"Asuka, don't," he said again, this time in a lower voice.

"Don't listen to him, child!" came a familiar voice.

"Mama?!" Asuka turned towards the door and saw that indeed Selina was miraculously alive. Oddly, none the worse for wear either. In fact, she looked pretty refreshed. "But…"

"You must finish this," Selina said again. "And hurry! The rest of the cult will be here soon!"

"Your voice is familiar, Selina," Shinji said, getting Asuka's attention. "I'm pretty sure I heard it at some point after I was put in this coffin."

Asuka's heart skipped a beat. What was going on here? "Is it true?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Selina countered. "He's trying to confuse you! He wants to become the Dark Lord! He was always so weak and pathetic all his life, now he has a shot at real power, do you really think he'd give that up?"

"He was never weak!" Asuka shouted back. "You don't know a thing about him!"

"Neither do you, child," Selina noted. "What memories do you really have of him?"

"Why do you want her to kill me so badly, Selina?" Shinji asked. "If she uses Dominus on me, it will just move the power elsewhere, and she'll die for nothing." Asuka turned towards Shinji, shocked again. "Didn't she tell you? No mortal can channel the power of Dominus and survive the effects. Dominus takes your soul as payment for its power."

"Shut your mouth!" Selina snapped. "You can't delay the inevitable!"

"Nothing is inevitable, Selina. I thought you would have already learned that lesson. I believe I heard Decius tell you as much…"

"Silence! You are not worthy of the power of Dracula!"

It was at that moment that reality slammed into Asuka like runaway truck. The hallucinations given to her by the Salem Witch suddenly rang in her ears once more, awoken by Selina's words. The realization took her breath away and made her realize that once again she was being used.

"You're the Mistress that Decius spoke of," Asuka concluded. "You're the leader of the cult!"

Selina stood for a moment, expressionless and emotionless but after a few more moments, she sighed. "You really are too smart for your own good, you know that."

Asuka shuddered, both from the gaping wound in her back and from the reality of it all sinking in. She was never in charge of her own destiny; not when she was a pilot, not when she was an operative, and not even now. She switched to _Refecto_ and started closing her wound, realizing she was likely going to have to fight again.

"I suppose you disserve to know the truth of it," Selina stated calmly as she walked further into the room. "You've earned that much. Lord Dracula was defeated in the year 1999. His castle, his remains, and even his very essence where sealed away by a powerful spell that required a great ritual. The result was that the castle would be sealed beyond the ethereal veil, the barrier between the real world and the metaphysical one. This was done in order to prevent Dracula's inevitable resurrection which happens every 100 years.

"Such measures would have actually worked, had it not been for Second Impact a year later. The event caused by the contact experiment with Adam managed to rip the fabric of reality asunder. This perfect Metaphysical rift allowed Dracula's Spirit to return. It rode the ethereal rift created by the impact event which granted children born after this point to become supernaturally aligned. In theory this should mean that anyone born around the time of Second Impact should be a candidate for the power of the Dark Lord. However we haven't figured out the reason for this, but not all children born during this time did became candidates. The ones that did, had become special in some way shape or form.

"You see Asuka, the EVAs had souls of their own. The Supernatural power the children had been imbued with allowed children to become pilots, able to synchronize with the soul within the beast. My theory as to why Shinji was always a better pilot than you was because of the fact that he was a candidate for the Dark Lord. In fact, He may control the purest form of the power of Dominus itself."

"That being," Asuka asked with anger in her voice.

"The power to rule," Shinji stated.

"Exactly," Selina continued. "Dracula had control over all the dark souls within his purview. Monster, human, it didn't matter. They all belonged to him. If Shinji carries this potential part of the Dark Lord's Legacy, it would explain why he was such a good pilot. The EVA simply did as it was told because Dominus would allow nothing less."

"Well that's all well and good," Asuka noted. "But it still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

"Put simply, Asuka, in order to figure out who will ultimately be the Dark Lord, all the other candidates must be removed. There are two ways to do it. The first is for a candidate of the Dark Lord to kill another one. This causes the powers of the candidate that was destroyed to join the missing piece of itself within the winner. But as we have yet to control any of the major candidates yet, just minor ones, we had to use the more… elaborate method. That being the Dominus Glyphs."

"I don't understand," Asuka noted.

"See, if a candidate of the Dark Lord is killed off by a mortal, the power goes back into the ethereal veil to reside for a year and day, after which time it finds a new host. But a candidate that has been killed by Dominus will have its power drawn within a prepared vessel. This allows us to control who gets the power."

"So you wish to control who becomes the Dark Lord," Shinji noted. "Which means you want a Dark Lord you can control."

"You of all people should appreciate how control works by now," Selina replied. "You and the rest of the EVA pilots were tools. So I just used you again."

"Of course if you manage to gather all of the Dark Lord's shards into a prepared vessel and then use Domius on it again, Dracula himself will be resurrected. I imagine this is what Decius and the rest of the cult were counting on. Perhaps even Shaft himself."

"They had their agenda. Mine is better."

"It's not going to happen," Asuka growled, allowing her sickles to appear in her hands. "I'll kill you first."

"My, my," Selina replied. "Still have some fight left in you after everything you've been through so far. You are quite the little soldier." Selina let the flames of her power begin to dance around her hands. "Alright child, I'll humor you."

Asuka immediately activated _Rapidus Fio_ to close the distance, realizing even though she stopped the bleeding, she likely didn't have much time before her body gave out. The next thing she knew she was throw back across the floor by a sound strike to the mid section from Selina's staff. She reeled from the hit suddenly forced to roll away and dodge bolts of electrical power thrown from the witch.

As she got back to her feet, she realized Selina wasn't there anymore and turned in time to get nailed again, this time by a mass of light energy that hurt like hell, ironically enough. Dazed, she lifted herself off the ground a bit and looked back, noticing that Selina was throwing aside her shawl and her cloak, that was now torn apart as if burst by a great force.

"Foolish girl," she started. "Why did you think I could teach you how to use the Glyphs if I didn't already possess them myself?"

"I should have guessed," Asuka admitted as she got to her feet.

"Indeed. In fact, I was the original holder of the Dominus Glyphs."

"What?! That's impossible. How could you have kept your memories?"

Selina laughed. "Dominus didn't take your memories child, I did!"

"You bitch," Asuka hissed dangerously. "You turned me into a tabula rasa just so you could throw the burden of sacrifice upon me."

Wings ripped from the back of Selina as she activated the _Arma Chiroptera_ Glyph, transforming herself into a creature akin to a succubus. "Of course I did." Her clothing seemed to disintegrate and her figure became more youthful. A black corset closed around her but left her breasts free. Other than the black boots that stopped at mid thigh, her body was fully bared and she stood unabashed in her demonic perfection. "I will become the new Dark Lord. Once I have collected all of the shards of Dracula, I will enact a ritual to bind them to myself. I will become as a goddess over all that is evil!"

Her wings began to slowly flap raising her slightly off the ground. A demonic tail, ending in a black barbed tip swung around from behind her. Black gloves without fingers covered her arms up to just past her elbows. Her lips seemed as if they were the color of blood, and her complexion pale.

"Until then, this is the closest I can be to the Dark Lord." Selina dove at Asuka, and the girl couldn't get out of the way in time. She was grabbed, slammed into one of the columns of the room, then thrown down to ground level again. Asuka tried to get up only to have Selina land on top of her. Having a half naked demon on top of her was not her idea of a picnic, especially when said demon slammed its claws into her shoulders. Asuka screamed, and Shinji began to fight with his restraints.

"Pathetic child, you barely understood what power you possessed. I will tear you apart and take back Dominus from your corpse. Then I'll find someone else I can use. Your death will be without meaning!"

Asuka kicked her off, switching to her sword glyphs. She kipped up to her feet like a martial artist and started to launch into a series of attacks. Selina however, was better than she at this kind of combat and kept blocking her attacks with her own claws, eventually stabbing Asuka in the stomach with her tail then throwing her across the room with it.

Asuka threw up some blood as she got back to her feet. She saw the hole in her stomach but simply cauterized the wound with a bit of fire before going back at Selina again. She threw axes, knives, summoned flames, and kept the pressure on, but couldn't even so much as land a hit against the madwoman. After getting nailed again with the back of a wing, she tried lunging in with her twin lances only to be clawed across the face and thrown back at the coffin.

"Useless," Selina countered. "In this form I am unstoppable. Even if you could hurt me, I would simply feed off of your life essence to replenish mine.

Asuka, still with a knife in hand stealthily cut one of the binds on Shinji's coffin before getting back to her feet.

"Asuka," Shinji whispered worriedly. "You can't keep this up."

"I'm sorry, Shinji," Asuka replied. Then turned back towards Selina.

"Sorry for what?" the boy asked worriedly.

"I can still kill you… and deny your future. And I will."

"Petulant child, haven't you figured out yet that you are powerless before me?"

"I still have one weapon left to me," Asuka noted sadly. "And I'm not afraid to use it."

"Asuka! No!" Shinji yelled as he pulled his binds free. He watched as the three Dominus Glyphs on her back became active.

"Goodbye, my love." Asuka focused on Selina at that moment and the demoness suddenly realized what was about to happen. She dove towards Asuka but without the ability to access _Rapidus Fio_ in that form, she wasn't fast enough to get to Asuka in time."

" _Melio… DOMINUS!"_

Just as Selina was within a few feet of Asuka, a rift of energy opened at the level of the center of the redhead's chest. The explosion of energy that tore forth was unlike anything either girl had ever witnessed. The flash of it hurt causing Asuka to close her eyes as she continued channeling the power. Selina's eyes burned out of her head instantly and she screamed as the energy began to disintegrate her body.

Shinji had managed to get loose and touched the center glyph on her back, hoping he could stop this before it was too late. Instead the radiant power of Dominus filled him as well. He reeled from the energy as he realized it wasn't destroying him, nor was it shunting anything of him away… it was waking something up with him. And in that moment, an inspiration struck him. It could have been a whisper from the Dark Lord himself, but he didn't care… he knew in that moment that he had the power to save Asuka, and he knew how to do it.

Asuka's eyes adjusted to the power and she watched in cold satisfaction as Selina's body was destroyed, along with all of her evil power and ambitions. In the midst of the energy, she watched a ball of darkness pull from the remains and begin to float away. Suddenly, as if caught in a current it turned around and flew right at her. Unable to move, the ball hit her and phased into her chest as Dominus finally ended.

 _The world faded out and she thought she had died. The toll paid._

" _You must be Selina," a Romanian voice spoke. Asuka turned, realizing she was suddenly inside Selina's memories._

" _That's right," a young Selina replied. "And you are?"_

" _Decius," the man replied. "I am the man who was asking for you. I was told you were an expert on written magic."_

" _Glyphic actually," Selina replied. "Is there something I can help you with?"_

" _Do you too crave the night?"_

 _Selina knew exactly what that meant. She had finally found another kindred spirit, one who could help fulfill her plans._

 _Everything became cloudy at that point, and another scene opened before her. She couldn't see where it was happening, just as before._

" _It's time," Rastur stated bluntly. "Are you sure you can go through with this?"_

" _Don't worry," Selina replied. "The girl is perfect for our uses. She'll do her duty…"_

 _Out of the haze Selina herself appeared, naked again, and this time not in a demonic form. Even now, she was beautiful, and Asuka could appreciate such beauty._

" _What am I doing here?" Selina asked. Asuka didn't respond as a massive dark hand with long fingernails seemed to reach out for Selina. It closed around the witch, nails digging into flesh and blood spraying everywhere. Selina screamed in agony as she was torn away from Asuka, the sheer terror on her face betraying that this was no ordinary death for Selina._

* * *

Asuka could feel herself starting to awaken. The pain was gone, but she still felt weak.

"Back with us now?" She heard Shinji ask.

"Where are we?" Asuka asked weakly, still unable to open her eyes.

"We're still in the ceremony room of the castle," Shinji replied. "You passed out for a few minutes there."

"How… how am I alive?" her eyes finally opened and she froze instantly. She was lying down with her head propped up on Shinji's lap. He had a hand over her stomach which was no longer bleeding, and one behind her head which was keeping her neck straight. His eyes, though… they were red, and glowing. His hair was disheveled and his features were slightly more feral.

"That was my doing," Shinji replied. As he spoke Asuka noted he had fangs like a vampire. "It seems Selina was right about what shard of the Dark Lord I possessed. Apparently, Dominus was my gift, but not the Glyph. Truly the power to rule, and that rule is enforced by control over souls. Specifically the souls of the dark and evil. I thought at first the way she described it, it was only over Dracula's minions, but when the power woke up within me… I realized that was a limitation that didn't actually exist. While I couldn't control an evil entity not part of Dracula's retinue while it was alive, once its soul had been released from its body, it was mine to do with as I pleased.

"Realizing that, I took control over Selina's soul at the moment she died, and shoved it into you, hoping that Dominus would take her soul instead of yours. It appears to have worked."

"You… saved me… someone who is in a way designed to try to stop you."

"Asuka… I'm still Shinji." Those words gave her hope. "It's just now I have this dark power within me. It doesn't control me though; I control it, and It can do nothing without my consent. So I have decided to subsume this power within myself."

"How long have you known you were a candidate?"

Shinji sighed. "Since before you returned to me," he admitted. "I had drempt of it before, and I suspected what the dreams could mean. So when I saw the Dominus Glyphs on your back, I was afraid you were the one that would destroy me. Even I had no idea that Selina was behind everything until it was far too late. The power started waking up after you came back. Remember when I found you at the club? I didn't use my contacts at the local law enforcement agency, I tracked you by scent."

"Are you actually a vampire now?"

"No, not entirely. I seem to have some of the advantages but not all, nor do I have the array of powers I probably should."

Asuka was about to ask something else when the room started to shake. She was confused as to what was happening but remembered what Selina had said about how the cult changes things.

"I think we better leave," she said instead.

"What's happening?"

"The cult has been here a while," Asuka noted. "Their influence on this building has hit the foundation. With the cult gone, the influence is gone, but the displaced matter is also gone. The building is now unstable!"

"Right, good night for a run then."

* * *

It took several precious minutes but at last they left the castle. From a safe distance both Shinji and Asuka watched as the castle crumbled under its own weight, with huge chunks of it falling into the sea, the rest forming a pile of rubble at the site. The last of the cult's influence was gone, and Asuka could see that the sun would be rising very soon.

"So ends the plot," Asuka noted.

"Ends? This isn't over, Asuka," Shinji noted. "The cult of Shaft is far from the only cult looking to resurrect Count Dracula. Other mages and witches exist with the desire to see the Dark Lord returned, to see the world shrouded in darkness once more."

Asuka sighed. Then squeaked as she was pulled into a loving embrace by Shinji. She looked up to see that his eyes had returned to normal and his disheveled and feral appearance was gone.

"Will it ever end?" Asuka asked. Though she already knew the answer.

The sun rose above the hills to the east beyond the ruins seeming to set the world around them alight. Asuka felt the warmth and it soothed her aching body.

"No," Shinji replied, as he also enjoyed the return of the light. "Pandora's box has been opened, and there is no closing it. We'll never be truly safe. But I think we can find ourselves some happiness in this darkness."

Asuka sighed… content to be back in the arms of the boy she loved.

"I'd like that…" she whispered.

It would take more time for her to get her memories back. And she knew she may never restore all of them. But now, she had the power to make new ones. Just as soon as she was healed, she knew exactly what memories she wanted to make next.

* * *

 **Credits**

Castlevania and related properties, property of Konami

Neon Genesis Evangelion is property of GAINAX

Story by Archdruid Sephiroth

With Ideas by Wolfpackersson09

 **Special Thanks**

Wolfpackersson09

Orionpax09

* * *

" _The Supernatural takes many forms. The werewolf… the vampire… the mage. In time I would learn of all of them. Asuka turned out to be only the first in a long list of powerful female warriors who would eventually join my cause. The next to come to me was Mari… and she was as close to me as any could come…"- Shinji Ikari_

 **Next Story:** Tragic Princess


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